Brennan was running as fast as she could. When she had agreed to come to the Amazon, running for her life was not on her plans. Shots fired after her and she tried her best to dodge them.
A waterfall ahead seamed to be the only escape route and so she jumped. Her right leg hit some rocks as she fell in the water. Painfully she swam as she could to the shore and tried to run. She was slowed by her leg and only made it a few feet from the river when she tripped on a tree root and fell, hitting her head in the process. The man that was chasing her looked down at her and she feared the end. A shot was heard and the man in front of her stammered back into the river. A tall handsome man came into her view just before she lost consciousness.
She woke up to a dark rainy night. The handsome man approached her.
"How are you feeling?" He sat next to her and handed her a bowl of soup.
"I don't know. What's this?" She took the bowl.
"It tastes better if you don't know what it is." He smiled at her and he took a spoonful of his own bowl. "My name is Gabriel Baron. What's yours?" He extended an arm to great her.
"I'm Dr. Temperance Brennan." They shook hands.
"So, Dr. Brennan what is a fine lady like you doing in the middle of the Amazon?" he looked at her.
"Long story. I work for the Jeffersonian Institute in Washington, D.C. I was asked to come and the study ancient remains of a recently found cannibalistic tribe." She continued to eat.
"That's interesting, but why were you being chased?" He ate his soup too.
"I found a set of remains of a young girl, 13 maybe 14 years old. A soldier, he could have been a cop I couldn't tell, told me to stop what I was doing. With my broken Portuguese I understood 'Stop...you'll regret it'. I ignored him and continued with my examination, he didn't like it, next thing I know he's shooting at me and I'm running for cover."
"Why would he care about the remains?" He took her empty bowl and handed her a cup of water.
"The remains were not ancient. They were still in decomposition." She drank the water quickly.
"Yeah, it's crazy up here. He probably killed her. It's always the same story." He was silent for a while. "What about your group?"
"Oh, I wasn't here with a group." She looked the man.
"That's risky, especially if you don't know your way up here."
"Yeah, it probably was. I had to jump a waterfall and that's were I hurt my leg. When I got out of the water I tripped and hit my head. The last thing I can remember is hearing a shot and then I saw you. "
"I shot him before he could shoot you. He fell into the water. With the rain, the current probably already washed his body away."
"You did a wonderful job with my leg. It doesn't hurt much." She looked at her bandaged leg.
"I studied medicine and photography before I came to live in the jungle." He laughed lightly. "You're going to be fine. Your leg's just swollen from the hit, and your head injury is not serous. But it would still be a good idea to visit a doctor once you get to the city."
"So Gabriel, tell me about yourself." He was a tall man with brown hair, short beard, and warm green eyes. His muscular body was evident through his white t-shirt and old jeans.
"Well, I was born in Venezuela." He sat by the foot of her cot.
"Your English is magnificent." She smiled at him. He's a fine male specimen. She commented to herself.
"My mom was American and my dad Venezuelan. Even though I was born in Venezuela, I mostly grew up in the States. Like I told you, I studied medicine and photography and I've been living here for a month at a time every few months for the past couple of years."
"Why?" Brennan's curiosity chimed in.
"Long story short, I'm here because of a girl." He looked at the ground for a moment.
"Bad relationship?"
"Not really. She chose some other guy who didn't deserve her. I couldn't stand seeing her suffer, so I left. I traveled the world until I ended up here and I just never really left. I go to city and come back. It's a never ending cycle."
"I was supposed to be leaving on a flight tomorrow morning. I need to go back to Washington, D.C."
"That's gonna be tough. There's a boat that comes by once a month. By foot it would take us a few days to get to the nearest town, but with your bad leg it could take longer."
"When's the next boat coming by?"
"A week."
"So, I guess I'm stuck here for a week."
"Don't say it like that. You're in good hands, and your honor will be respected." They smiled at each other.
The days went by quick. Brennan healed completely and enjoyed the man's company. He was kind and respectful, yet Brennan found him extremely attractive. She'd even had a few erotic fantasies involving the guy.
Meanwhile at the Jeffersonian, the squints and Booth began to worry. She was scheduled to return a week ago and she hadn't even called. Something was wrong and everyone wanted to know where she was and if she was okay. If it wasn't because he didn't have any money or sick days, Booth would have gone to Brazil and look for her. But if he didn't hear from her in the next 24 hours, he'd get the money some how and fly over there.
"Leonidas is a good man, he'll take you to the town and then you can grab your stuff and be on your way." He told her as she was getting ready to board the boat.
"Thank you for everything." She hugged him and boarded the boat.
Gabriel was making his way back to his shack when he spotted Mateo in the boat's cabin. Everyone knew Mateo was a bad piece of work. He ran to his shack and grabbed the backpack he kept his passport and other important papers in.
Brennan heard her name being called and turned around.
"Temperance, honey, wait up." Gabriel ran to her side and planted a kiss on her lips. Brennan's lips responded quickly and their kiss became passionate as their tongues danced in their mouths. "I'll explain in a little bit." He whispered when they parted. You don't need to excuse yourself for that awesome kiss. Brennan thought.
The boat meandered with the river's flow.
"See that man over there? The young one?" He discretely pointed in the direction Mateo was. Brennan nodded. "He's known for being a rapist and murderer. But here in the jungle not many can do anything about it, even if you have proof." Anger was evident in his face as he said the last words. "I kissed you so he can know you're not alone. He's too much of a coward to try something if he knows you're not alone."
Hmm, maybe we should kiss again if that's going to keep him away. "Oh, thanks." They smiled at each other. After a few minutes Brennan made an offer. "Why don't you come with me?"
"To the States?" She nodded, a smile spread in her face at the double meaning of that statement, but he didn't notice. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, let me repay you for what you've done for me. I'll be a good guide." Her smile still on her face.
"I've never been to Washington, D.C." He agreed. Maybe getting away from the jungle wasn't such a bad idea.
Days later
"Yes, I already told you that she is coming to work tomorrow, Booth. Yes, I spoke to her briefly, but she will be here. No, I don't know what time her flight comes in. Yes, I'll let you know if anything happens. Good night, Booth." Angela sighed and hung up her phone. Man, does he have it bad for Brenn.
Brennan unlocked the front door of her apartment and they stepped inside.
"Nice place." He told her as they walked towards the couch.
"Are you hungry? It's not too late to order something in." He nodded. "I know this great Thai place. How does that sound?"
"Sure, I haven't had Thai in a long time." She grabbed her phone and placed the order.
"It'll be about half an hour. I'm going to shower and change before they get here, do you want to shower too?" He looked at her a little surprised. "I meant if you want to shower, you can use the one in the guest room." She smiled at him.
"I like what I understood first." He chuckled. She took him to the guest room and showed him were the towels were.
She enjoyed the feel of the hot water against her body. It felt good to be back home. She put on some loose pajama pants and a black tank top. She went to the living room and saw that Gabriel wasn't done yet. There was a knock on the door and she opened it; it was their food.
"Gabriel?" She knocked on the guest bedroom's door. She stepped inside and found him standing with a towel around his waist. Delicious. She ran her eyes over his bare torso enjoying the view of his muscular chest and abs. "The food is here."
"I didn't want to go out with just a towel on."
"My brother and his girlfriend spent a few days with me a few months ago. I think he left some clothes behind." She walked to the closet and searched for some clothes. "Here." She handed him a pair of boxers, sweat pants, and a t-shirt. "I hope they fit." She said as she left the room.
Angela was eagerly waiting on the platform for her friend to arrive. Cam was also on the platform, but not looking at the Jeffersonian's entrance. Angela spotted Brennan as the doctor made her way to the platform. Who's that hunk next to her? Angela walked down the platform steps to great her friend.
"Hi, sweetie." Angela hugged her friend. "Hi, I'm Angela Montenegro." She shook hands with Gabriel.
"Nice to meet you Angela. My name is Gabriel Baron." He smiled and followed the two women up the platform steps.
"This is Dr…" Brennan began to introduce him to Cam.
"Camille Saroyan." He finished.
"Gabe?" Cam asked. "I haven't seen you in years." They hugged and smiled at each other.
"Seems like they know each other pretty well." Angela muttered to Brennan.
Brennan felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around. Booth hugged her tight and kissed her cheek. "I'm glad you're back, Bones. I missed you and I'm glad you're okay." He whispered in her ear.
"I'm glad to see you too, Booth." She told him when they parted. "I want you to meet someone. Gabriel this is my partner Special Agent Seeley Booth. Booth this is Gabriel Baron." Booth's jaw clenched as he shook the man's hand. What the hell is this guy doing here?
Booth was jealous.
Please review and let me know if anyone is interested.
(Little hint, remember Gabriel went to live in the jungle because of girl. And he and Cam know 'each other pretty well' as Angela stated. I think you guys can make the connection.)