Thank yous to: Vmf447, Phyllis, angelena76, 554Laura, ZinaR, mphs95, LoveShipper, MstgSzy (glad it triggered some thought and reflection), FaithinBones, MsNYC, mendenbar, aadams00, regbride12. Thanks for sticking with the story, reading and reviewing.
The scene was all too familiar. He was sitting at a table in the Royal Diner. Opposite him Aubrey was jabbering on about how good that morning's waffles were. His phone rang and Booth, glad for some reprieve from his partner's voice, answered immediately. He recognised the voice on the line immediately and it sent a chill down his spine. He hit the speaker button, allowing Aubrey to listen in.
It was Taffet. She had taken Brennan, the love of his life. She was buried somewhere out there again and was running out of air. The thought of losing her gripped him like a tight vice around his chest, preventing him from breathing. He looked to Aubrey who seemed strangely unaffected by what was going on.
Suddenly, he was no longer in the diner. He was kneeling on the ground. He glanced around and he realised he was in a quarry. The sand and gravel seemed to go on for miles. The setting was all too familiar. He somehow knew why he was there and what he had to do. He started digging and clawing at the loose sand under his fingers. He dug hard and fast as the sweat dripped from his forehead. She was running out of time and he couldn't get to her. No matter how fast he tried to dig he couldn't reach her. His fingers started to bleed but he didn't care.
And then just when he felt like all hope was lost, he touched her hand. He summoned all the strength he had left, digging and pulling at the same time until her head broke the surface. Her neck lolled limply to the side and Booth continued to work to free her until he pulled her entire body out.
"Bones!" He called to her but this time she didn't respond. This time, she wasn't sitting up. Instead, she was lying lifelessly on the ground.
"Bones! Temperance, c'mon! Stay with me."
She remained motionless, her eyes closed. He was too late.
"No!" He sobbed as he threw himself over her body, cradling her to himself.
Booth gasped, bolting upright. Startled, Brennan who had been asleep beside him sat up too.
"Are you okay?"
Booth turned, blinking. He hadn't realised he had been crying. He swiped at the tears that had run down his cheeks.
"Bones you're… you're okay." He let out a breath in relief.
Brennan immediately understood what had just happened.
"You had a nightmare."
Booth nodded. "Gravedigger took you. I was too late this time."
"It was only a dream."
"A really bad dream."
"I'm here, I'm okay." Brennan assured him. She opened her arms to him and they fell back in bed, her arms wrapped around him as he rested his head on her chest. The steady rise and fall of her chest calmed him. He felt her fingers run through his short hair, gently caressing the back of his head. He knew she sometimes ran her fingers along the scar hidden by his hair, the scar left by his brain surgery on his scalp, just to remind herself of how fortunate she was that he didn't succumb to that brain tumor. He knew tonight she was doing exactly that.
After some time, Booth lifted his head. Brennan seemed as if she was drifting off back to sleep. Slowly he extricated himself from her arms, climbing out of bed, he pulled on a t-shirt, then a pair of faded jeans over his boxers.
"Where are you going?"
"I don't really wanna go back to sleep."
Brennan sat up. "Want some company?"
"You go back to sleep. I'll be in the garage, workin' on that Mustang."
"You sure you don't want company?"
"I'm okay Bones. I promise. Get some sleep."
Brennan nodded. She watched Booth leave the room. As she lay back down on the bed, she resolved that she would solve the case as soon as possible, for their sakes.
Early the next morning, Brennan was back in the lab with a renewed determination. The evidence from New York had arrived and it busied everyone in the lab. With only x-rays of the dead twelve-year-old, Brennan and Arastoo set out to determine what they could.
"Dr Vaziri, take a look at what appears to be microfractures on the superior facet of the victim's second rib." She pointed her finger at the image on the computer screen in the bone room.
Arastoo magnified the image.
"I concur. It appears to be microfractures."
"I've seen them before."
Arastoo looked at his mentor as she furrowed her brow, deep in thought.
She quickly gloved her hands and turned to the set of remains on the light table. She carefully picked up the corresponding rib on Matthew Read's remains, fingering it gently as if the object she was running her fingers over was her own child's soft skin. Lowering the magnifier over her eyes she carefully examined the rib.
"Similar shape and pattern." She lifted the magnifier along with the head band off her head, then pulled the medial camera over the rib, magnifying it so that Arastoo could also see what she was looking at.
"They're not identical but very similar. Possibly made by the same weapon." He looked up at her.
"Yes, I postulate a taser."
"Heather Taffet used it on Thomas Vega." Arastoo smiled shyly. "I was reading up on the old case files."
"Never apologise for conducting thorough background research."
"But a taser would not fracture the ribs."
"Not in adults but very probable on the bones of children and adolescents. Perhaps you and Dr Hodgins would like to conduct an experiment?"
Arastoo looked unsure. He enjoyed conducting experiments with Hodgins' but he knew they would also land him in hot soup where his girlfriend was concerned.
"It might be a good idea to obtain Dr Saroyan's approval prior."
Arastoo smiled. "I'll talk to Dr Hodgins first."
"So you're saying you have evidence linking our victim from Richmond, to the kid in New York?" Booth stared at the file lying on the table that Brennan had brought to his office.
"Yes. The person who took both Matthew Read and Carl O'Neal used a specific model of taser, sending bolts of electricity through their bodies to incapacitate them. In an adult, the current would not have marked the bone but in children and adolescents, it does. It's all there in my report." Brennan explained.
Booth glanced at Caroline who was sitting in the chair opposite his desk. "That enough for you to go to a judge?"
"Maybe."
"Maybe?" Brennan asked.
"Anyone could have gone out and bought that taser. May not convince a judge to issue an exhumation order."
"But you'll try?" Booth asked.
"I will but outcomes may not be in your favor Cher."
At that moment Aubrey breezed. "I got it."
He stopped, glancing at Brennan and Caroline. "Am I interrupting?"
"Bones found out that the same type of taser was used on both kids but Caroline doesn't think a judge would be convinced to exhume Carl O'Neal and have his remains brought here."
"I think I just might have found something that's gotta convince a judge." Aubrey placed the file he was holding on Booth's desk. "While you were busy with your pal Broadsky yesterday – "
"Aubrey he's not Booth's best friend." Brennan was quick to interrupt.
Booth held up his hand. "It's okay Bones. Aubrey didn't mean anything."
"Anyway, I found a newspaper clipping of Matthew Read in Taffet's belongings."
"I thought his parents never reported him missing?" Brennan asked.
"It was a short article about the kid's basketball team winning some High School tournament. Matthew Read was the star point guard."
Booth sat up, his eyes lighting up. "She was the one who chose the victim."
"I've got more." Aubrey held up a watch in an transparent evidence bag. "This watch was recovered as evidence when Taffet was arrested. It was assumed to belong to one of her victims but none of her known victim's parents could ID it as belonging to their kid."
Aubrey tossed the watch to Booth. He examined it. "Not mine, not Bones'. Pretty sure not Hodgins'."
"Right it's more of a kid's watch right? So on a hunch… I took it to Matthew Read's parents."
"Lemme guess, it's his?"
"Yup."
Booth stood grinning. "Aubrey I could kiss you."
"But not in front of your wife." Aubrey grinned cheekily. "How about a burger at the Diner while Caroline goes to the judge."
The evidence was enough to convince a judge to issue a warrant and Carl O'Neal's remains were exhumed and brought to the Jeffersonian. Brennan quickly confirmed that the microfractures she had seen on the boy's remains were in fact identical to the ones on Matthew Read. However, hopes that new evidence would surface enabling them to find the accomplice were soon dashed. Little progress seemed to be made in the days following. Brennan spent more time in the lab often working till late.
Worried about her, Booth made a trip to the lab that evening after the kids were in bed. Through the glass walls of her office, he watched her at her desk, squinting at something on her laptop screen. Something tugged at his heart. He loved her. He smiled, knocking on her door.
"Hey Bones."
"Booth what are you doing here?" Brennan glanced at the time. "Are the children okay?"
"Relax. Max is at our place." Booth entered her office. "Kids were sleeping when I left."
"You have not answered my question. What are you doing here?"
"It's late. I'm worried about you."
"We need to find this accomplice Booth."
"I get it, but you need your rest too." He made his way to Brennan, taking her hand in his. He pulled her to his feet, leading her to the couch.
"You're getting nightmares. Catching the accomplice would enable you to sleep better."
"I know you care about me but I care about you too." Booth shrugged. "Besides, I get to work on my Mustang when I don't sleep well."
"That's not a good excuse not to sleep."
As they settled onto the couch, Booth wrapped an arm round her shoulders. "I missed you."
Brennan smiled. "That's sweet."
She turned in his arms, pressing a light kiss to his lips.
"I also hate the part when Aubrey and I are just waiting on you squints to give us something so we have something to do."
"Have you and Agent Aubrey finished looking through all of Taffet's old files?"
"Yeah. Files from New York Field Office didn't give us any leads so we're going through people she's prosecuted now. Could be one of 'em."
At that moment, Hodgins walked in with Angela. "We're calling it a night Dr B."
He spied Booth and Brennan on the couch.
"Hope we didn't interrupt anything." Angela grinned.
"No, you did not." Brennan replied.
Angela and Hodgins seats opposite them.
"I wish we'd have found something by now." Hodgins sighed.
"You will." Angela smiled encouragingly.
"Aubrey and I are gonna talk to Abigail Hewitt again. Maybe she has something else for us." Booth said.
"I think maybe our unwillingness to talk about the elephant in the room is stalling the investigation." Hodgins suddenly said.
"What the hell you talkin' about bug boy?" Booth asked.
"Hey no need for the hostility. I'm angry too."
"I'm not angry."
"C'mon Booth. We were all taken. We all know what it's like!" Hodgins raised his voice.
"Hodgins…" Angela started.
"No Angie."
"Hell ya we were taken. We almost died. What you think this is too personal for us? Bones isn't like that."
"I know. But look… we've all suspected right? But none of us said anything."
"Suspected what?" Brennan asked.
"That Taffet had an accomplice."
Booth was silent.
"Heather Taffet was just one woman. How could she possibly take both Dr B and me?"
"We were both rendered unconscious." Brennan offered an explanation.
"Yeah but she ran the risk of someone seeing her. She had to haul us into your car, drive us to that quarry, dig a big hole, bury us. And what about Booth? He's a big guy, no way she could have done that herself!"
"Are you sayin' that we all knew but didn't do anything about it?" Booth glared angrily at Hodgins.
"We couldn't have known Hodgins." Brennan shook her head.
"Not with certainty but we were so sure we had this Gravedigger business all put to bed that we didn't even bother investigating the possibility. And now we have three dead kids and who knows how many more."
"Stop." Booth held up his hand, softening his tone. "We don't do that. We don't let the what if's cloud our judgment. We didn't take those kids and bury them alive."
"Booth is right." Angela nodded. "But we all can't help but feel guilty over it."
"We shouldn't." Brennan quickly replied. "I used to think that but Booth always convinces me otherwise."
"Feelin' guilty about those kids isn't gonna help. You're right, we all suspected Taffet had help, but we couldn't launch an investigation over a hunch. But now we have evidence, hard evidence. So you squints are gonna do what you do best and we'll catch this guy okay?"
"I just hope we're not too late." Hodgins said.
"We won't be."
The foursome fell silent, each deep in their own thoughts. After some time, Booth spoke up, "But you're right. We needed to get this out. Not talking about it just made things harder than it should've been."
Hodgins reached for Angela, squeezing her hand. Booth pulled Brennan tighter to himself. "It's late. Let's all just go home huh?" He looked to Brennan, who nodded.
No one however made an attempt to move. The four remained in Brennan's office. No words were spoken but it was understood. They had a shared traumatic experience, an experience that made them uniquely linked to their current case.