A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews! I had thought about putting it in somewhere other than crossovers, since they don't get as much traffic, but the rules say that you can only have it posted in one location... I don't know how to move it.
Spoilers: Season 10 of Bones and a slight mention of season 4, and Season 2 of Fringe.
Disclaimer: Not mine!
Back in Washington D.C., the coroner's office employees wheeled the latest corpse into the lab at the Jeffersonian Institute; the lab in which Dr. Brennan and her team worked out of.
Within minutes, the lab was abuzz with activity while the scientists attempted to determine the cause of death and identification of the victim. Getting the body back there hadn't been easy. Walter Bishop had insisted that the body must go back to his lab at Harvard University, but Dr. Brennan would have none of it after she saw the old scientist's lab. A lab without her state-of-the-art equipment simply would not do. It took some convincing, but Peter finally was able to get his father to relent.
Dr. Jack Hodgins the resident bug guy, or entomologist, stood up and examined the larva he'd just collected from the victim. After a quick glace under the microscope he said, "The larval stage of the Calliphoridae, or the blow fly, put time of death between 48 and 60 hours ago."
Peter, having finally convinced Dr. Brennan to let him oversee their work, stood out of the way while everyone took their samples. He didn't want to get in their way, but he also wanted to know what was going on so he'd be better equipped to help in the investigation. He would find Olivia if it was the last thing he did.
Time, for Peter, was ticking by extremely slowly. Every second felt like an eternity, and he felt helpless in this lab. It was unfamiliar territory and didn't know how he could help. He recognized some of the equipment, but most of it was unrecognizable. Walter's lab was nowhere near as up to date with the newest scientific equipment as the Jeffersonian Institute. After Dr. Camille Saroyan, the lab's forensic pathologist, had removed any pertinent tissues and what was left of the organs, Peter spent the next couple of hours overseeing the tests and watching as the Dermestidae beetles went to work cleaning the bones. Peter sighed and prayed silently to a God he didn't believe in that Olivia was alive, and waiting for someone to find her.
The beetles made short-work of the remains, and before they knew it, Angela Montenegro was ready to take the skull off to reconstruct the face of the victim. Angela was not only the best friend of Dr. Brennan, but she was also the wife of Dr. Jack Hodgins. Her specialty was art, not the type of art she wanted to do, but she had an important job. She gave people back their faces because there was something inhuman and depressing about letting them die alone and unidentified. As a Forensic Artist, when she wasn't reconstructing their victim's faces, she was running scenarios for cause of death on her extremely expensive computer system. Her computer system could rival those that the CIA used. Angela picked up the skull and examined the contours as she walked back towards her office.
Not knowing what else to do, because everyone was scattered off examining test results and speaking gibberish, Peter followed Angela to her office and leaned against her door frame as he watched her get to work on putting a face on it. He thought understanding Walter could be hard at times, but Walter had nothing on these people. He wasn't sure how Agent Booth could understand them when even Peter found it difficult. He had a feeling Booth wasn't exactly the type to understand a bunch of scientific mumbo-jumbo.
It didn't take very long for the artist to realize someone was hovering in her doorway. She turned around and eyed the younger Bishop appreciatively before giving him a flirtatious smile. Brennan had mentioned who this man was and what his involvement in the case was, but this was the first time she'd really seen him up close. "Heya, stud-muffin," she offered with a sexy grin.
He nodded in acknowledgement.
"What can I do for you?" She asked him.
"I hope you don't mind if I watch you do the reconstruction." He nodded towards the skull she had been working on.
"You're worried its gonna be her, aren't you?" It wasn't hard for her to come to that conclusion, if the expression on his face was anything to go by.
He couldn't hide the look of hurt that flashed across his face at her words, and it wasn't lost on Angela either. She recognized that look. Unrequited love, longing, and fear. She had seen both Brennan and Booth that way more times than she could count. Her heart immediately ached for the man she had just met. Angela, always the romantic at heart, sincerely hoped that this man was reunited with his partner and that the skull in front of her didn't belong to Agent Dunham, although the evidence so far seemed to indicate that it may very well be her.
She offered him a hopeful smile and patted the chair next to her. "You're more than welcome to keep me company while I work."
He nodded his thanks and sat down in the chair she offered him.
He watched as she worked and marveled at how the skull slowly started looking less like a spooky Halloween decoration and began to actually take on the appearance of a real person. In his fear, he swore he kept seeing Olivia's face appear on the clay, and he'd find himself holding his breath. What would he do if he lost her? He didn't even want to contemplate that thought, but he couldn't help the feeling of unease that kept creeping up his spine.
A few times, the artist glanced over at him and saw the anguish spread across his face as she thought he might be recognizing the face in the clay. She gently patted him on the shoulder in reassurance before choosing a medium length blonde wig for the hair color.
Peter's eyes widened. "Why would you use that color?" He had a horrified expression on his face.
Angela offered him a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, Peter, I didn't mean to upset you..." She trailed off and picked up the report in front of her and handed it to Peter. "I read the report before I went and grabbed the skull, and it indicates that there were long blonde strands of hair found in with the remains. "
Peter almost violently took the folder and thumbed through it quickly until he found a forensic photo of a few clumps of blonde hair, matted with blood, and his heart sank into the pit of his stomach. It was starting to look more and more like the body belonged to Olivia. He steeled his resolve and handed the report back to Angela, then looked at the head, willing it to be anyone but his partner. "Let's get this over with."
She nodded, and went back to work. It didn't take long before she heard him stand up and walk away after swearing under his breath. The air suddenly felt stuffy and tense. Angela reached into the folder and pulled out a photo of Agent Dunham and compared it to the face she had just created. Her mouth dropped; her heart instantly aching for the man.
Peter walked back into the lab and shoved his hands in his pockets. A determined look came over his face as he walked towards the doors as if he were on a mission. Just before he reached the doors to leave the lab, Booth entered and blocked his way.
To Booth, Peter looked like he was about to go on a murdering spree. His first instinct was to reach out and try to calm the man down. It was obvious to Booth that the news wasn't good and he didn't need to go hunting down a madman who had just lost his partner. He, himself had just arrived to see if there was any headway on the identification of the body. By the ravenous look on Peter Bishop's face, the answer wasn't the one everyone had been hoping for. "Bishop," Booth warned, trying to pull Peter back to the present moment.
Peter looked Booth in the eyes and spoke through gritted teeth, "Get out of my way."
"Look, I know this is rough for you, but we have a job to do." Booth understood what the man was going through. He'd been there himself on a number of occasions. Too many close calls in this line of work.
Peter resigned and turned around to walk up to the platform with Booth.
"It's your partner, isn't it?" Booth felt guilty for asking, but he needed to confirm his suspicions.
"Yeah," Peter's voice broke. He instantly held his breath for a moment to calm himself. Peter Bishop wasn't a man of many tears, but right now he was dangerously close to dropping to his knees and screaming. It felt as if his entire world had come to an end. Seeing his partner's face in Angela's office had been like a blow to the gut.
As the team members assembled on the platform, Dr. Saroyan appeared. Cam was the Forensic Pathologist and the boss in the lab, even though everyone who knew her knew it was really Dr. Brennan who ran the show. "What have we got?" Cam asked as she rested her hand on her hip.
Dr. Brennan cleared her throat before speaking. "The victim has been identified as Agent Olivia Dunham."
Cam glanced over to Booth, her long time friend and colleague. "Booth, would you mind calling Agent Broyles and letting him know our findings?"
"I'll take care it," Booth said.
"Have you found cause of death yet?" Peter was trying his best to focus on the case instead of thinking about the fact that he would never see Olivia again. That idea pained him too much to contemplate it right now, so instead he chose to push aside his feelings and grief. He didn't mind slipping into a state of denial for a while. Olivia had been taken while looking for him, so he had to focus on bringing the person who murdered her to justice. If he couldn't see her ever again, at least he could catch the asshole who ended her life.
Brennan flipped through her notes before answering Peter's question. "It appears as if she was tortured and then strangled."
Peter winced. Instantly his mind dragged up horrific images of Olivia strapped to a table being tortured, her screams piercing through the dark and damp prison. "Have you found anything that could lead us to any suspects?" Peter inquired, feeling defeated.
"Not as of yet. Dr. Saroyan is awaiting the toxicology results before we can fully piece together what happened. I'm sorry I cannot provide you with more information at this time, but I promise you, we will help you bring the people responsible for this to justice." The conviction in Dr. Brennan's voice was astonishing to Peter.
Brennan thought about what it was like when she thought Booth was dead, and even attended his funeral. Remembering how painful that was for her gave her a better understanding of how Peter Bishop must be feeling. She used it as fuel to help motivate her into getting the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible. She knew she would hardly rest until she had solid answers, as was always the case when she became emotionally invested in a case.
A/N: Please don't kill me! If you've seen Fringe, you know that Olivia never stays dead for very long... :P
