Chapter Four

Booth sat on the edge of Brennan's bed, just inhaling her scent. His eyes roved around the room settling on the picture that was taken at the Halloween party that the Jeffersonian held every year. He picked up the picture. There she was dressed as Lois Lane, which was a welcomed change from Wonder Woman, and Booth had gone as Clark Kent. He smiled remembering that party.

"We were a great team Bones." Booth muttered. He opened up the picture frame and took out the picture, placing it in his pocket. He walked over to her kitchen and opened up the cabinet, finding a bottle of scotch.

"I never pegged you for a scotch woman Bones." He uncapped the bottled and poured himself a glass. He let the amber liquid burn his throat. He poured another and kept them coming until he felt himself slip into oblivion, to a place where he could still see his Bones.

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Booth woke to the sound of the door unlocking. Angela slipped inside.

"He's here Rebecca. Thanks for calling." She hung up the phone sliding down to the ground to sit next to her friend.

"I can still feel her here Angela. I miss her so much." Booth sighed. His head was pounding and all he really wanted was some more scotch to numb away the pain of losing her.

"I miss her too Seeley." Angela's voice caught in her throat. "I need you to help me plan her funeral."

"I can't." Booth replied. "I can't do it Ange. I'm not ready to say goodbye to her yet."

"Her dad and brother are on their way up. They are going to be staying me. They will be in tonight and we are all meeting at the Jeffersonian. I think you should be there."

Booth nodded.

Angela stood extending her hand out to him, unshed tears still were in her eyes. "Come on. Rebecca is expecting you back. She is really worried about you."

Booth stared at Angela. "She was there for me after I lost my last partner. Rebecca stood beside me when I got back from Iraq, scarred and battered. The only person who knows me better than Rebecca is Bones."

Angela nodded, getting him out the door and back to Rebecca's.

Booth knocked on the door of his ex's house waiting with Angela by his side. Rebecca opened the door sighing in relief. "Seeley."

"Becca, I'm sorry." He apologized for his actions earlier.

"Don't worry about it. I hope you don't mind, but I went by your place and picked up some clothes for you. Brent and I want you to stay for a couple of days. It will help you to be close to Parker."

Booth nodded knowing she was probably right. He needed to be close to his son, but he couldn't take care of him right now. "Does he know?"

Rebecca shook her head. "I didn't have the heart to tell him."

He sighed knowing that it would have to come from him. He picked up the bag that was sitting off the side of the stairs and trudge his way up. He turned the knob to the bedroom door and threw his bag on the bed. Booth laid down, staring at the ceiling, welcoming the sleep that was so desperately needed at the moment.

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Parker Booth walked in to the house. He had heard his mother wake up her boyfriend to go pick up his father . . . what Parker didn't understand was why. Parker put his backpack down at the foot of the stairs and turned to the kitchen to get his afternoon snack before doing his homework. Walking into the kitchen he spotted his father sitting at the table, holding his coffee cup. Parker brightened up a bit, running over to him.

"Daddy!"

"Hey Bub." Booth put down his coffee cup and scooped up his son.

"What are you doing here Dad?" Parker questioned, hugging his father.

Booth sucked in some air, not knowing how he was going to tell his son that Brennan was gone. "Do you remember that airplane crash three days ago?"

Parker nodded his head.

"Daddy's partner was on that plane." Booth spoke slowly, not wanting to say the words. "Bones had to go up to heaven."

Parker looked at his father, not really knowing what to say. He was processing the information that he was just told. He put his hand on his father's knee, looking up at him. Their brown eyes connected and Booth saw the same sad expressions that was mirrored in his own eyes.

"But she was supposed to teach the science class next week on how to make snow with Max . . ." Parker sputtered trying to be brave. "I don't want her to go to heaven! It's not fair . . ."

Booth scooped his son up in his arms. "I know Parker. I know." He whispered in his son's ear. Booth soothed him, while all he wanted to do was fall apart with him.

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Brennan leaned back, closing her eyes for a couple of moments. A thin light streamed into the room from an area in the window that hadn't adequately been covered by the dark sheets of paper. Her head throbbed from her last encounter with Kenton.

"Come on already Booth." She muttered. She stretched trying to get comfortable again, knowing that it wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Her shoulders and arms ached from where he strung her up every day, just barely out of the reach of the dogs. Her ankle hurt from the shackles he had around her, keeping her tethered to the wall.

Each time she held on to the chain, hoping that they wouldn't reach her, and each day that she survived he rewarded her with a small meal, just enough to sustain her.

The door opened and Kenton walked in with a sinister smile on his face. "You did well today Dr. Brennan."

She muttered a quick thanks, knowing that if she didn't submit that he would withhold her dinner for the night.

"You are quickly learning Dr. Brennan." Kenton murmured into her ear, putting her tray down. She involuntarily shudder with his closeness. "Maybe when I am done teaching you your lesson, I can start on another one." He touched her on the cheek. "I wander what Booth saw in you. Not that he is ever going to see you again. He is never going to find you."

Brennan stared at her food, eating it quickly, not making any conversation with him. He watched as she devoured her food and her water.

"The dogs and I will see you tomorrow."

"Kenton, let me out!" She screamed at the door as it closed. "We didn't do anything to you . . ." She trailed off.

He opened the door. "You and your partner took everything from me, and now I am taking everything away from you."

Brennan sighed, holding her head in her hands. "Come on Booth."

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Booth stepped out of the shower, feeling achy and sore. His shoulder never felt quite right after he took the bullet for her. Booth knew that he would have died for her and wished that he was on the plane and not her. Going on without her was so much harder than what he thought it would be.

He grabbed his Foreigner shirt out his bag and his leather jacket. Booth took a quick look at himself in the mirror before heading down the stair. Rebecca was in the middle of cooking their family dinner. He watched for a couple of seconds before Rebecca spoke. "Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner Seeley?"

"How did you know I was right behind you?" Booth questioned.

"I didn't live with a sniper and didn't pick up some of your mannerisms." She replied. "So what were you thinking about?" She popped a carrot into her mouth.

"I was thinking about how Bones and I will never get the chance to make dinner together again." Booth sighed. "She is all I can think about right now." He reached over and picked up the keys from the counter.

Rebecca sighed watching him walk out the door. He had to grieve.

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Booth used his security key to let himself on to the platform of the Jeffersonian. He stared at the examination table. He could almost see her bending over the table, looking at the newest case. She shook his head, casting the vision away. There would be no more cases that the pair would ever solve again. He brushed his hand over his badge, wondering if he could ever be partnered with another person. He picked it up and dropped his badge on the table.

"I don't think she would want you to do that." Max's voice filled the platform.

"How would you know?" He voice was laced with bitterness.

"Because it was what she lived for. She was a scientist, but Tempe didn't really start living until you pulled her out of this lab and put her knowledge to work in the real world. It gave her a greater sense of purpose Booth. You made her the happiest that I have ever seen her." Max replied. "To give that completely up would be betraying her."

"I just don't think I can do it without her."

"When I lost Christine, my heart shattered into a million pieces, but I still had to get up every day and keep moving. I needed to stay alive for my kids, to keep making sure that they were safe." Max replied.

"Does the hurt ever go away?" Booth whispered.

"No Son. It never goes away, and sometimes it hurts even more." Max looked at the young man next to him. At least he and his wife had started a life together . . . his daughter and Booth would never have that chance.

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Hodgins started at the computer model he had made. It didn't make sense. Sure, sometimes remains of people could be found, but there was absolutely no trace of her on that plane. There was no sign that she had ever gotten on. If she had been sitting where she was assigned, she would have had to store her carryon items in a bin closer to the front of first class.

He stormed into Cullen's office, followed by the stuttering of the secretary. "Please tell me that you do not have Dr. Brennan on some assignment, that you aren't making people go through the misery of losing her!" He raged out.

"What are you talking about squint?" Cullen shooed his secretary away.

"Tungsten has an incredibly high melting point, 3150 degrees Fahrenheit to be exact . . . not indestructible, but pretty damn close, though it can get scratched."

"Get to the point squint."

"Dr. Brennan couldn't have been on that plane. She would have never separated from her field kit, it would have been in a carryon."

"It's all circumstantial Dr. Hodgins." Cullen looked perplex. He picked up the phone. "McAden get all the surveillance tapes from Dulles airport. Find Dr. Brennan and see with your own eyes if she ever got on that plane."

Hodgins got up. Cullen held up a hand to forestall him. "Don't tell anyone else about this." Hodgins was getting ready to spout on about conspiracy theories. But Cullen waged on, "If it turns out that she was in fact on that plane, you would be dashing all their hopes. Let's just wait until we have something more concrete to back us up."

Hodgins nodded seeing the rationale. He walked out of the building feeling a little better than what he had in days.

AN: Read and review as always. I hope you enjoyed it. I will try to crank out as many chapters as I can. The more alerts and reviews a story has, the more attention I give it . . . (not a bribe or anything, just trying to please the masses). Reviews rock my socks and make my day. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.