Tempe tried to call Booth a few times, but after his conversation with Ang, he took the rest of the day off. He had to clear his head. He knew he should answer her calls, or at the very least check the four voice messages she'd left in the past 2 hours. But he had to think about his next step, his next move. After talking to Angela, he went to see Cam, and the result was... less than desirable, you could say.

"Cam... we need to talk," He pulled back as she went to kiss him.

"What is it?" She asked, gesturing for him to take a seat.

He shook his head, "This shouldn't take long. We can't do this anymore, Cam. This is over. I hope you won't let this affect our work relationship..."

"Of course not. Goodbye, Seeley..." She opened her office door, and as he walked out, she reached for his hand, "Don't let her go, okay?"

Booth just nodded, afraid his voice would betray him should he attempt to use it. And he left the Jeffersonian, not bothering to say goodbye to any of the squint squad he now considered friends. Even Zach, the brilliant, socially inept former grad student, who had grown on him, despite his refusal to acknowledge it. Booth had spent the past two hours in his SUV, just sitting outside of Wong Foo's. He couldn't go in and see Sid, because Sid could read his mind sometimes, and he was afraid of the things he was thinking. Sighing, he turned his car back on, and headed to his apartment.


Tempe sighed as yet another call went to voicemail. "Seeley Booth, call me back when you get this, please. It's important..."

"Still not answering?" Ang's voice startled her. She nodded, setting the phone down, "Don't worry, sweetie. He'll call you back."

"I'm going to head home..."

"Seriously? It's only," a glance at the clock almost stopped Angela's heart, "It's only 5 o'clock. This is the earliest you've ever gone home..."

"I'm physically and emotionally exhausted... if I don't go home now, I don't know what's going to happen. I'm just going to work on my new book, and sleep some. I'll call you when I get there, okay?"

"Yeah, sweetie. I love you, Brennan," Ang whispered as she wrapped her arms around her friend's shoulders.

"I love you too." She gathered her things and left the building, heading for the parking garage. It was getting dark, but visibility was relatively high. She sighed, shifting her bag as she unlocked her car.

"Temperance Brennan?" She spun at the sound of her voice, and almost didn't register the large pipe in the man's hands. She dropped her things and used her arms to protect her head, feeling her bones crush under the attack. Collapsing to the ground, the last thing she remembered as the beating continued was she hoped it was Zack who found her. Zack, the reasonable, clear headed genius, who would put his emotions aside and call for help. If it were Angela or Hodgins, they might look at her injuries, shocked at the angles her bones took. But not Zack.


"Booth..."

"Where the hell have you been, Booth?"

"Nice to hear from you Angela. What's up?"

"Have you heard from Bren?"

He felt his heart stop, and he immediately spun his car around, heading for the Jeffersonian. There was something in her voice that made him uneasy. "She tried calling me a few times but... I couldn't answer."

"Has she called in the past 45 minutes?"

"No... what's going on?"

"She left here about 45 minutes ago to go home. She was a wreck, and I was worried, so I made her promise to call when she got to her apartment, so I would know she made it there safely. She never called, Booth. She isn't answering her cell phone, or her apartment phone. I didn't know who else to call..." Her voice broke into a sob, and Booth felt his gut wrench.

"I'm on my way. Try to stay calm..."

"Why didn't you call her back?"

"What?"

"Why didn't you answer the phone, or call her back. She called you so many times..."

He sighed, "Can we talk about this later, Angela? We've gotta find Bones." He hung up his phone and drove as fast as he could, making it to the museum in record time. As he approached an open spot, something caught his eye. It was Bones' car, still parked where it was when he left. "This isn't good," he muttered, throwing his car in park and running over. He stopped dead in his tracks. "oh, God..." he knealt down beside her as he reached for his cell phone. "This is Special Agent Seeley Booth, I need medics in the Jeffersonian parking garage immediately... It's Dr. Temperance Brennan... Her breathing is shallow and her pulse is weak, but yes, she's alive," he choked, tears clouding his eyes. "Just hurry, alright?"

"Bones... Tempe, come on. Wake up... You've got to open your eyes. I'm sorry I didn't call you, didn't answer. I just... I had to think... you're going to be okay. You have to be okay, Bones. I love you..." he kissed her forehead, stroking her hair gently as the paramedics arrived.


"Angela Montenegro."

"It's me..."

"Are you here? did you find her?"

"No, I'm not there... not anymore..."

"I don't like the sound of that... What's wrong?"

"Can you get Hodgins and Zack, please, and put me on speaker?"

"This is definetly not good..." she whispered into the phone before doing as she was asked. Hodgins' face read terrified, and Angela reached out to hold his hand, "We're all here, Booth..."

He sighed, "I got the call from Angela and started heading to the Jeffersonian. When I got there, I noticed Bones' car was still in the same spot it had been when I left. So I got out and that's when... when I found her..."

"Was she... was she..." Hodgins couldn't form thoughts, let alone convey them.

"She was badly beaten... I'm not sure what by yet, but I'm having her x-rays, photographs of her injuries, and samples all sent over for analyzation. You should get them shortly. I'm not expecting you to start this case now, but hopefully..."

"I'll uh, I'll start working through the samples when they get here," Hodgins whispered.

"And I can work on finding out the weapon..." Zack spoke up, his voice shaking slightly.

"I'm going to go down to security and see about possible video feed, see if we can't get a face..." Angela left, leaving the three boys silent.

"She loves you, Booth," Hodgins said, his voice trembling with tears and anger.

"What?"

"She told me she's in love with you. I convinced her to tell you, to make up after that stupid fight and not let that hold her back from trying to be with you... And she tried to tell you, man. Why the hell didn't you answer your damned phone?" Hodgins stood up, throwing the chair back against a wall before leaving, tears streaming down his face as he flashed back to being trapped in that car.

"Hodgins?" Booth asked tentatively.

"I'm the only one left, Booth. What's her prognosis, do you know anything?"

"The doctor says she was in critical but stable condition before surgery. She should be out of surgery in a few hours..."

"Alright... we'll contact you if we find anything of use..."

"Zack?"

"Yes, Agent Booth?"

He sighed, "Did she know I loved her? If anything happens, I'll never forgive myself..."

"You can't blame yourself, Booth. You didn't attack her... I've got to go, your things just got in. We'll be in touch..."

"Thanks Zack"

"Why did you tell him it's not his fault, Zack?" Hodgins asked, leaning against the door.

"Because it's not. He didn't attack her in a dark parking garage, Jack. He loves her, and him blaming himself isn't helping anyone."

"He didn't answer her calls. If he would've, she wouldn't have left early, and she wouldn't have been attacked. He's as much to blame as anyone else. And if anything happens to her, I'm holding him responsible..."