Chapter Three

I do not own Bones at all! Bones belongs to Fox Broadcasting. Based on the episode The Sense in the Sacrifice.

"Look, I love the closeness sweetie, but shouldn't there be something else you should be doing?" Angela chided. She paced around the lab nervously, checking each computer carefully.

"I just want to make sure the shell works," rebutted Hodgins. He peered over her shoulder intently, gazing at the intricate layers of firewalls she had installed.

"Yeah, well, I've set up a trident subs worth of light emitting jammers; there is no way Pelant is hacking through this thing."

"Hey, Sweets, I thought you were on leave," Hodgins commented. He was turning toward the door when Dr. Lance Sweet and Caroline entered.

"Pelant may think he's smarter than us, but he's not smarter than us all put together." Caroline asserted, her voice strong.

Hodgins swallowed hard as Dr. Saroyan and Dr. Brennan wheeled the corpse into the lab. The plan was to desecrate a human cadaver like Prometheus and set it up where Pelant could see it. Since Pelant could not bear someone doing a bloodier murder than him, he was sure to come out of hiding for it. Then, when someone discovered the body, they would pretend to investigate it while someone looked for Pelant.

No, no, no. Hodgins forced down the bile rising in his throat. He had been through many disgusting corpse related situations before, but deliberately mutilating a body seemed so wrong that Hodgins's stomach rebelled against the thought.

He stepped down the stairs, and exited through the glass doors, tearing off his badge as he went. He pushed through the heavy doors. He ripped the car door open, and collapsed into the seat. That's when he broke. Hodgins put his head into his hands, and wept. The ache in his heart intensified and his thoughts traveled to Zack's face. The tears came faster and thicker, and scraps of memories flickered through his brain in a tidal wave of agony.

He slammed the door and twisted the keys in the car savagely, and stabbed the accelerator with his boot, and squealed out of the drive way with the stench of burning rubber.

His hands clenched the wheel until his knuckles were white and his fingernails cut deep into the plastic steering wheel. Suddenly, his eye caught on face in the street. Close cut borwn hair, handsome face, worn eyes that gleamed with intelligence.

Hodgins tore the steering wheel to the side, his heart thundering. With a squeal of burning rubber he pulled off the road. The dark haired young man did not even flinch. Hodgins hurled himself out of the car.

He threw his arms around Zack. Zack was crying. Tears bled through Hodgins's shirt. They clutched onto each other, until Zack staggered, and Hodgins released him, his eyes bright and full.

"God, Zack, I missed you so much,"

"I felt the same rush of proteins and adrenaline that you did. In other words I missed you too." Zack's face was full of tears.

"Get in the car," Hodgins invited. "I can get your job back at the Jeffersonian."