A/N sorry I keep taking so long for the updates. Between 4 upper-level physics classes, and writers block I had no ideas. This chapter is much longer than I normally write, and I have already started with the next one, so it shouldn't take as long. Thanks so much to all who have continued reading and all the wonderful reviews. I apologize for any typos, and Bones is not mine.
A few hours later, Brennan walked back into the Jeffersonian. The woman she and Booth had interviewed had no helpful information. She had been there that morning, and heard the boys playing around in the woods, nothing more. Booth had gone back to his office, frustrated at the lack of leads in the case. Angela had started her sketch of the victim running in the missing persons database, and so far there hadn't been any hits, but Brennan knew it could take hours, if the girl was even in it.
Sighing for what felt like the millionth time in the last few weeks, she decided to go back to her office and work on her book. With her lack of sleep, she was really starting to fall behind, something she had never done in her life, and her editor was hounding her for the next chapters. Sitting down at her desk, Brennan started up her laptop and began working.
About 20 minutes later, Angela entered her office. "Ange, hey, did you find the victim in the database?"
"Not yet, sweetie. I just came over to see how the interview went?" Angela responded, making her statement a question.
"Not so well. She had been in the park that morning, and heard the boys playing their paint game off in the woods, but she neither saw or heard anything else. Booth is getting frustrated."
"So Bren, I happen to have no plans tonight, and was thinking that we should have a girls night out. What do you think? And I am not taking 'no' for an answer." She looked at her friend hopefully, with a look that dared her to refuse.
"I dunno. I have a lot of work to do. My publisher wants the next 100 pages on her desk in three days, and I only have 5 written."
"We both know that you can get that done in like a day and a half when you set your mind to it. I am coming over tonight with some ice cream, and DVDs. I will be there at 7." With that, Angela walked out of the office.
She knew Ange was right about the book, and by the time it was time for her to leave to get her apartment ready for Angela to come over, she had written over 70 pages. Hitting save, she quickly shut down her laptop and left the lab.
***
After the interview Booth had gone back to his office, frustrated. He had Charlie, as well as the local police in Virginia, looking for leads, and he spent the afternoon catching up on paperwork. Five o'clock couldn't come soon enough, he hated paperwork. As he was leaving his office, he flipped open his phone and hit speed-dial 1. After a few seconds he heard, "Brennan."
"Hey, Bones. I am just leaving the office and was wondering if you wanted to go get some dinner with me. I am craving Thai."
"I can't Booth," his face fell a bit, "Ange insisted we have a girls night and is coming over to my apartment with ice cream and DVDs. You know her, she wouldn't take no for an answer." Booth smiled at Bones had such a good friend in Angela. Maybe this is just what she needs to shake herself out of this funk. Even though she hadn't mentioned anymore nightmares, he had seen how tired she looked today.
"Okay, have fun with your girly stuff," he said 'girly stuff' with a mock disgusted tone. "And, Bones, " he started pausing.
"Yes, Booth?"
"Take care of yourself." He said somewhere between an order and a plea.
"Okay, have a goodnight," she responded, and he heard a click. Why do I find it so hard to believe that "okay"? He thought sarcastically. At least she'll be hanging out with Angel tonight.
***
True to her word, Angela arrived around 7, bearing an assortment of what Brennan knew she referred to as "chick flicks", two pints of chocolate ice cream, and a pizza.
"Hey, Ange," Brennan greeted as she opened the door.
"Hey, Bren, ready for some fun? I brought all the best movies that just came out, and I know just the one we should start with." She brushed past Temperance into the apartment and began setting everything up. With a deep breath and small smile, she joined her friend in the living room to start their night.
As promised their night was filled with comedy and romance movies, lots of ice cream, and an all around fun time. At the end of the 3rd movie and the bottom of her pint of ice cream, Brennan looked at the clock and gasped that it was almost 2 am. "Wow, Ange, it's pretty late. This was a lot of fun, but I better be getting to bed."
"Oh wow, it is late, mind if I just crash on your guest room? I hate having to drive this late."
"Of course, you don't even have to ask. Goodnight, Ange, " She said walking to her bedroom.
Feeling content, Temperance was asleep within minutes. It didn't last long. Less than an hour after falling asleep, she began to fidget in her sleep.
"Joy! Joy! Where are you, honey?" Tempe heard her mom yelling. She crinkled her nose, every once in a while her mom called her Joy, but she never worried about it. She got up from her bedroom and went down to the kitchen, where she heard her mother's voice coming from. "Can you help me with dinner?" her mom asked, without turn away from the counter where she was chopping vegetables.
"Sure, what do you need me to do?"
"Cut up those carrots, for me," she indicated with her knife.
Searching through the drawer, "I can't find a knife."
"Here, Joy, take mine." Her mom turned to face her, and the knife she had been holding transformed into a tire iron. Temperance took a reflexive step backwards. "What's the matter, dear?" her mom asked taking a slow step toward her. Tempe stepped further back. "Take the knife, Joy." Her mom's voice was no longer her mom's, it had deepened seeming to change the more she spoke. Terrified and confused she whispered,
"I am Temperance, Mom."
The voice was deeper, and she recognized it now though it maintained the sweet quality of her mother's. "No. You are joy, don't be silly."
"MicVikor..." she gasped, backing up as fast as she could.
"Haha, of course, and I am going to finish what I started." The voice no longer containing any trace of her mother. Faster than humanly possible, he closed the gap between them, raising the tire iron above her head. "Say, goodbye, Joy Keenan, " And he swung the tire iron...
Brennan awoke to screaming and muttering. "No, no, you got it wrong, I am Temperance Brennan, not Joy. Please please, stop, you have the wrong person. Stop please." She was pleading and crying.
Angela heard the scream, and rushed into her best friend's room. "Bren, sweetie, what's wrong?"
She didn't seem to notice Angela's presence, "I don't know who Joy is, please, just don't hurt me, oh god, stop!" She raised her arms above her head protecting herself from some unseen assailant.
"Dammit, Bren. Wake! Up!" Angela yelled over Brennan's cries. She didn't know whether she should touch her friend or not, but it seemed like there was no other choice. Grabbing Bren's shoulder, she shook her firmly.
Brennan immediately stopped screaming, and blinked her eyes, as if she hadn't actually been awake. Considering how unaware she was, Angela was pretty sure she hadn't been. "Ange, what are you doing in here?"
"Well your screaming bloody murder, kind of woke me up. Another nightmare?" She asked, hoping her friend would open up.
Bren nodded. "Sorry I woke you up. It is no big deal, it really wasn't very bad."
"Uh-huh, don't like to me. Nobody who wake up screaming like that had a nightmare that was 'no big deal'."
"No, honestly, Ange. Ever since I was young I have woken up screaming and muttering from even mild nightmares. It is similar to night-terrors that affect children, and like them, as soon as I am woken up from it, I hardly remember." She lied, for once, incredibly convincingly.
"You know I can tell when you are lying, right?" Ange asked pointedly. Bren just nodded. "And as stupid as that explanation sounds, I believe you. I am exhausted, try not to scream in your sleep anymore. Goodnight."
Temperance sighed in relief. She didn't know if she got away with it whether it was because Angela was so tired, or she had just gotten that good at lying. She would bet money that it was the former. It didn't really matter, though, as long as she kept her secret.
Angela lied back down in bed. It hadn't seemed like her best friend had been lying. She was always able to tell. That may have been the truth, but that is two nightmares in the last day. I am definitely going to mention this to Booth. Maybe he can get her to talk...she decided as she fell back asleep.
When she was fairly certain Angela had fallen back asleep, she quietly slipped out into the living room to get her laptop. Might as well finish this part of my book.
When Angela got up, Brennan joined her in the kitchen for some coffee, before they left for the lab. "Sleep well?" Brennan asked.
"Well aside from my best friend scaring the crap out of me at 3am, quite well thank you."
Bren blushed, "Sorry about that, like I said, it happens sometimes, I am sorry it woke you up."
"No problem, sweetie, sleep okay after that?"
"Yes." She lied. "Ready to go?"
***
20 minutes later, the two friends were walking up to platform where, Zack, Hodgins, and Cam were already gathered. "You all are here early," Angela observed.
"I don't know about the squints, but I have a meeting with Cullen this afternoon, and wanted one more update before I go." He paused, taking in her tired features, she and Angela must have had one hell of a night. "I already got everybody else's input, have anything new for me, Bones?" He flashed her a charm smile.
She smiled back, shaking her head, "No, I am afraid not, Booth. Hopefully I am can have more for you this afternoon."
With that, the team disbanded in their separate directions. Booth moved to follow Brennan to her office, when Angela grabbed his arm. When he turned to look at her, she nodded towards her office, "Can I talk to you a minute? It's about Bren." He nodded and followed her to her office.
She looks tired too. Must really have been one hell of a night.
"Booth, " she said getting his full attention, "last night, Bren and I were up late watching movies and having girl talk so I stayed the night, " she hesitated, Brennan really didn't want her telling Booth.
Booth flashed her a charm smile and urged her to continue, biting back all comments about facials and pillow fights, at the turmoil in her eyes. "Ange, you aren't betraying her by telling me," he told her, guessing at her feelings correctly.
Nodding, she continued, "Well, I stayed in her guest room, and about an hour after we went to bed I wake up to her screaming bloody murder." She stopped there, leaving out the details of what her friend had been muttering, it had seemed so personal.
"Shit..." Booth muttered as Angela continued.
"I went in to see if she was okay, and she told me that it was similar to night-terrors children get, and that as soon as she wakes up, she doesn't remember, and that there wasn't really anything weird about it."
Booth looked skeptical at that and she explained, "I have always been able to tell when she is lying, and she did not seem to be last night. Yet that explanation seems awfully..."
"Fake." Booth supplied. Angela nodded. "Listen, Ange. I gotta go, thanks for telling me, I will take care of this as soon as I get back.
***
Four hours later, Booth walked back into the Jeffersonian. A quick look around revealed that Bones was in her office. Good, somewhere private. Quietly he knocked on her door frame. "Hey, Bones, " she glanced up at him. Taking that as an invitation he walked in, slowly shutting the door behind him. Making eye contact he took a deep breath, "We need to talk."
