The next morning, they had a corpse.
It was a male, found in a river.
Everyone took one look at the body, and said 'gross'.
Except for Rachel, that is.
The ugliness of the crime didn't faze her, and she went on with her work.
Zack came in for the day, took one look at the corpse, turned green, and fled.
And that was not easy to do.
The corpse, having been dismembered, burned, crushed, and all other things nasty, was stinking up the lab.
"Oh that is nasty" Cam said, tying a handkerchief around her mouth and nose.
"Gross" She said when she looked for the second time.
Then, she looked at Rachel, who was patiently scraping away some of the flesh for analysis.
"How the hell can you survive the stench in here?"
"You get used to it"
Cam nodded, then continued with her own work.
Rachel pulled out the portable x-ray machine and scanned the head.
"I was right, there was something in it"
The X-ray showed a small orb, lodged in the center of the brain, or what was left of it.
"Alright, i'll let you chop the head off and take it for recovery"
Rachel picked up the head, which was no longer attached to the body.
"Right" Cam said, obviously having thought that it was still stuck to the spine.
Rachel smiled triumphantly and gracefully walked off to the coroner's room, carrying the head.
"Where that girl gets her guts, I have no idea"
----
Rachel set the head on the table and put on protective goggles.
She picked up the scapel saw, then head a knock on the door.
"Need help?" Zack asked through the glass.
Rachel nodded.
Zack came in, and put on some goggles.
"Good morning"
Rachel smiled.
"Nothing like a corpse to wake you up in the morning"
Zack nodded, looking slightly green again.
"Anyways, i'm going to cut right below the hairline, there's something stuck in what's left of the brain"
She started to saw, and it quickly went through.
Then, a large cloud of powder flew out of the skull, hitting Rachel right in the face.
She fell backwards, choking and gasping.
"Rachel!" Zack yelled, droppping his tray of utensils and catching her before she could hit the floor.
Her eyes rolled back into her head, and she started convulsing, foam dribbling out of her mouth.
"Somebody help!" Zack yelled again, setting Rachel down so that he could open the door.
"Help!"
--------------
When Rachel woke up, she could hear the beeps of machines.
Where was she?
She could hear someone's breathing, an the murmur of voices outside the door.
She opened her eyes, and blinked. Everything was so bright.
Then, as her eyes adjusted, she could see Zack's sleeping form in a chair by her bed, his hand resting on the sheets.
Then, she felt a tightness in her chest.
She took deep breath, and the tightness went away.
Zack's hand shifted on the bed, and she froze.
He looked like he hadn't been getting much sleep, judging by the rings underneath his eyes.
Rachel leaned back, closing her eyes.
That tightness was back again.
She took another deep breath, and it dissapated, only to come back a few moments later.
Something was wrong.
------
Zack woke up, and blinked to clear his eyes.
He was sitting in a chair.
In Rachel's hospital room.
The bed was empty, the monitors gone, and the blankets folded neatly.
Where was she?
Had she died?
No.
She couldn't have died.
Booth would have woken him up.
Still...
Zack stood up and forced his tired legs to move, trying to find someone he knew.
A nurse passed by, and he asked her the whereabouts of RAchel, but she just shook her head.
Zack continued down the hallway, his worry rising.
He meandered around the hospital for about an hour, then he finally found Dr. Brennan, sitting in lobby.
"There you are Zack" She said tiredly.
"You guys left me"
"Sorry"
"Where's Rachel"
Brennan put down her cup of coffee, then thought better of it and gave it to Zack, who looked like he was on the verge of having a mental breakdown.
"She had to go into surgery"
Zack's eyes widened.
"Why?"
"She couldn't breathe, and they couldn't put her on a ventilator"
Zack put his face in his hands.
"It was my fault"
Brennan touched his shoulder gently.
"I should have told her to put a mask on"
Then, a doctor waked in.
"Dr. Brennan?"
She stood up.
"She's out of surgery, it was a success"
Brennan and Zack both smiled.
"When can we see her?"
The doctor gestured for them to follow him.
The two scientists were led into a small recovery room, where Rachel was sleeping.
Zack let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding.
"We cleaned the fluid out of her lungs and re-dosed her with the antidote, she's expected to make a full recovery"
Zack grinned, then flopped down in one of the chairs.
"Go ahead and sleep Zack, you look like you could use it" Brennan said, taking her coffee cup away from him.
Zack nodded, then promptly fell asleep.
Brennan looked over at Zack, and gently brushed some of his curly hair out of his face.
Then, she stood up and left.
Zack should be there when Rachel woke up.
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