Disclaimer - I don't own bones
Chapter 9 – Aliens in a Spaceship
Brennan moaned softly as she rolled her head slightly, "Oh God. What – What happened? Where am I?" She turned the keys in the ignition as she frantically felt around to figure out where she was. The radio was on and she reached behind her neck and felt something, like a burn. "Ugh. Oh god." She reached up and turned on the inside light and exhaled softly. She saw her phone, smashed and lying on the passenger seat.
Brennan tried to open the car door, slamming into it a few times. "Oh, Come on!" She tried to open the door again, to no avail. She then tried to roll down the window, only to have dirt and rocks fall in the car on her. She quickly rolled up the window to stop the onslaught of dirt. She then turned off the radio, growing annoyed by the music. She stopped for a moment to collect herself, and heard a moaning noise coming from the back seat. She immediately thought that it was Booth and sighed in relief. She wasn't alone. She turned around and instead of seeing Booth, she saw Jack Hodgins, and he appeared to be in worse shape than her. She started to climb over the console, "Hodgins. Hodgins. Are you all right? Can you talk?" She put her hand on his leg, only to find to find blood and gashes on them. She looked up at him worriedly, "Your legs. What happened to your legs?"
Hodgins was just starting to gain full consciousness when he mumbled, "Where are we?"
Brennan at him seriously. "We're buried alive. He must have got us."
Hodgins was very confused, "Who?"
Brennan looked around at all the dirt and the darkness. She took in a deep calming breath. "The Grave Digger"
~BONES~
48 Hours Earlier
Booth and Brennan were walking in the woods to crime scene. The Sheriff told them, "My superior says to let you look at the…flying saucer."
Brennan told him matter-of-factly, "It's not a flying saucer."
The sheriff told her, "It sure looks like one. Local kids dirt biking. Something shiny poking through dirt. They dig it out, look in the window and see aliens."
Brennan looked at him skeptically, "Did you look?"
The sheriff nodded his head, "Yes, ma'am. Then called for backup."
Booth was the one now to look at him confused, "Why?"
The sheriff shrugged his shoulders as if it was obvious, "On account of…well, they are aliens."
Booth looked at Brennan, and then she headed over to the 'spaceship'. Brennan walked right up to it and knelt down, "All right." She cleared dirt of the window and looked in. She then looked at Booth, "You wanna take a look?"
Booth moved behind her and peered over her shoulder into the window. "Oh. Are those what I think they are?"
Brennan looked at him and said seriously, "Yes. As long as you think they're two adolescent human males."
Booth nodded slowly as he processed that. "Hmm…How long?"
Brennan examined the bodies as much as she could, "The amount of dehydrated tissue suggest the tank is sealed and intact. Years."
Booth shook his head, "Man. Two kids, huh? I liked it better when they were aliens."
~BONES~
Booth, Brennan, Thomas Vega and Janine O' Connell were in a conference room in the Hoover Building. Vega told them, "I became a Kidnap and Ransom specialist after I realized that the bureau's policy on nonpayment to kidnappers is antiquated and dangerous."
Booth looked at him and asked, "You've dealt with The Grave Digger how many times?"
Janine answered for him, proudly, "In total? Five."
Vega informed them, "Janine is a journalist. She helped me write the book on The Grave Digger. Next to me, she's the ranking expert on that son of a bitch."
Booth looked at Janine with slight disgust, "Journalist, huh?"
Janine pouted slightly, "Aw, don't be like that, Agent Booth. The Grave Digger is totally consistent. No one ever sees the victim taken. The ransom demand is made using a digitally altered voice. A time limit is given. There's never a second call. As soon as the ransom is paid to a numbered, untraceable account in Bahrain, the Caribbean, etc. The GPS coordinates are provided, leading to the victim."
Brennan asked curiously, "None of the surviving victims remembers anything before being taken?"
Janine shook her head, "Nothing. Burn marks on the back of the neck suggest the use of a stun gun or cattle prod."
Vega told them, "And that'll scramble your brains pretty good. Also, when you try to trace whatever container the boys were found in, you'll, well, you'll reach a dead end. He gets everything from landfills or cash auctions."
Booth asked seriously, "No last chance to pay up?"
Vega shook his head, "Never."
Janine said almost appraisingly, "You know. Most kidnappers are caught because they start negotiating the ransom. The Grave Digger simply won't play."
Booth looked at definitely disgusted now. "Really not looking to help you write another book, ya know. Capturing The Grave Digger."
Vega told Booth a little angrily, "Agent Booth. I have seen what this guy does to families, up close. Ya know what, dislike me as much as you want but I'm still gonna help ya because… I want this bastard caught."
Vega and Janine left the room as Brennan turned to Booth as she said, "You were kinda mean to them."
Booth smiled charmingly, "Yeah. Thanks." Brennan shook her head and smiled at his mischievousness.
~BONES~
Booth and Brennan were in Booth's SUV. Booth was driving when Brennan said out of nowhere, "Had it occurred to you that God is a lot like The Grave Digger?"
Booth looked at her slightly mortified that she would say something like that. "Wha…What?"
Brennan explained, "He lays down the rules. No way to question him or negotiate. Then it's almost as though he doesn't care how it works out. Either you do as he says – make some sacrifices and they're delivered or you don't and you end up in hell."
Booth joked, sorta, "You know what? I'd appreciate it if you didn't say things like that because I really don't want to get struck by lightning."
Brennan was silent for a few seconds before she asked, "You go to church every Sunday, right?
Booth nodded slowly, "Yes, I do. Then we meet up for lunch."
Brennan looked at him innocently, "Can I come with you next time?"
Booth looked forward unwavering. 'No. You can't."
Brennan – for her part – was shocked by his outright denial, "Wh- why? It might help me to understand."
Booth shook his head as he told her, "I am not going to help you disrespect God in His own house. Okay, if you want to do some kind of, ya know, anthropological study – turn on the religious channel." Brennan huffed in anger as she turned to look out the window.
~BONES~
Brennan was walking to her car when she noticed something in the reflection in her window. She started to turn around when someone grabbed her from behind. Before she knew what had even happened, she was unconscious.
Hodgins had just come out into the garage when he saw Brennan unconscious on the ground. He started to run over to her worriedly calling out, "Dr. Brennan. Dr. Brennan?" As he got closer to her body, he stopped when he heard tires screeching against the concrete. The last thing he saw were the lights of a car coming at him.
~BONES~
Booth and Cam were sitting in the Royal Diner eating. Booth had invited Cam so he could have a serious conversation about her flirtatious behavior toward him and how it needed to stop. He however was blind-sided by Cam, "What do you say we go to New York for the weekend?"
Booth shook his head, "Yeah, I don't think…"
Cam rolled her eyes at his reluctant manner, "Come on! We're two adults with no obligations." Booth's phone rang. He was about to answer it when Cam stopped him, "Let it go to voice mail. We're not cheating. We're not hurting anybody, Seeley."
Booth shook his head again, "Camille, I'm with someone. I lo…"
Cam tried to stop what he was going to say, "Come to New York with me. We'll go to a musical."
Booth felt his phone vibrate letting him know that he had a message. He had to laugh at the musical comment, "Talking and singing and talking and dancing and more singing." He pulled out his phone to check his voicemail.
Cam laughed, thinking that she finally got through him. "You can fantasize about pulling out your gun and shooting everyone on stage. You know you like that." Booth put his phone to his ear to check his message, as Cam continued to talk, "Seriously, we'll do something you like. Like, climbing the outside of the Empire State building or swimming the East River…or…" However, Booth wasn't paying attention to her anymore. Whatever he wanted to tell her about his relationship with Brennan was long forgotten as his heart sank while he listened to his message. Cam noticed Booth's paled and pained features and asked concerned, "What? What happened?"
Booth turned on the speaker phone and played back the voice mail. "Temperance Brennan and Jack Hodgins have been buried alive. Wire transfer $8 million to the following Grand Cayman account or they will suffocate to death."
~BONES~
Booth was playing the message back for Vega, Janine, and Kim Kurland . "Upon receipt of the wire transfer, I will provide you Brennan and Hodgins GPS Coordinates. This will be my last communication."
Vega told them seriously, "It will be his last communication too. He's never varied."
Kim nodded slowly as she processed the message. "He learnt from the Kent boys. He's got two of them, he cut the deadline in half."
Vega shook his head confused though, "Why is The Grave Digger demanding so much money? It's doesn't make any sense."
Janine told them, "Well, he's always been reasonable at knowing how much people can raise within the time limit."
Vega looked at Booth as he questioned, "Has – uh – Dr. Brennan made that much money from her books?"
Booth shook his head. He knew how much money they had. Hell, he'd go rob a bank just to get wife back. But he also knew who had more money. "It's Hodgins. He's the sole heir to this thing called The Cantilever Group."
Vega's brow furrowed, "What's that?"
Janine stared at Booth in disbelief for a second, "Just the third largest privately owned corporation in the country…"
Booth glared at Vega as he almost snarled, "Make sense now, Tom?"
~BONES~
Brennan looked at Hodgins as she tried to keep calm, "I was on my way to karate class, so we have lots of bottled water."
Hodgins was still severely disoriented, "What happened? Where are we?"
Brennan sighed in anger and frustration, "Last thing I remember is being at the lab."
Hodgins looked down at his legs, "I'm really confused, what happened to my legs?" He looked at Brennan and asked again, "Where are we?"
Brennan was starting to become worried by Hodgins mental state. "Underground. Buried. I have a burn…" She pulled her hair back revealing 2 red marks – from what appears to be a stun gun.
Much to her relief, Hodgins started to recall some facts. "Zach was trying to figure out what kind of stun gun…"
Brennan told him honestly, "It has to be The Grave Digger. I think he ran you down with his car, and then pumped you full of drugs to ruin your short term memory – same as Ryan Kent."
Hodgins was finally starting to get a sense of how serious their condition was as he obviously started getting more worried, "How long have we been down here?"
Brennan looked down at her watch, "Um. It would be – 2 hours – I think?"
Hodgins closed his eyes as he tried to focus on the math, "Okay, So this vehicle is 6…60 - 60 cubic feet of air, uh, it's just 20 percent oxygen – two people – my brain is not working…" He sighed in frustration at his inability to do simple mathematics.
Brennan felt panic creep up into, but tried to hide it the best she could. "The Grave Digger is very consistent. If we started with 12 hours of air, we'll be unconscious in 10. After that if – if no one pays the ransom…"
Hodgins finished her sentence, the final pieces coming together showing them how dire their circumstances were, "We're dead." Brennan nodded her head slowly, tears forming slowly.
~BONES~
Everyone was on the platform in the lab, with a countdown on one of the screens that read 10:43:04. Cam looked at Booth confused, "How are we gonna get our hands on $8,000,000?"
Zach told her what everyone there knew, "Hodgins is rich."
Cam looked at him surprised, "He is?"
Zach nodded his head, "'Rich squared to the power of ten times four' is how he describes it."
Angela turned to Booth worried out of her mind. "You're gonna pay the ransom, right?"
Booth had no doubt about that. He was going to get both Bones and Hodgins out, alive. Because if he didn't, it would kill him. "Yes. FBI standard ops, they won't work. Grave Digger operates outside statistics."
Cam looked at him seriously, "They'll fire you."
Booth really could care less about that. He just wanted Brennan in his arms. He tried to play it off, "Ah, that's cool. One less reason to wear a suit."
Cam still couldn't figure something out though, "How did The Grave Digger catch Brennan and Hodgins together?"
Booth had alone gone to dinner with Cam because he knew Brennan had her class. "Bones was on her way to karate."
Angela sighed as she recalled, "And Hodgins said he found something huge…"
Zach finished for her, "…and he tried to catch Dr. Brennan."
~BONES~
Angela, Zach, Cam, and Booth went to investigate the garage where they knew Brennan parked her car. Cam walked over to where she saw a blood stain, "Here!"
Angela rushed over and took in a deep breath. "Oh my god. Oooh, that's blood, isn't it?"
Booth tried to stay rational, the way Brennan would instead of purely acting on emotion, but he needed to go on his gut with this one. He didn't like to think of that being hers "It'll turn out to be Hodgins."
Zach told him, "Dr. Brennan doesn't like it when we jump to conclusions."
Cam said, "I'm sure she'll appreciate - we're on a deadline."
Booth tried to play out the scene in his head. "Look. Hodgins interrupted the kidnapping, just like Ryan and Matthew – The Grave Digger must have run him over."
Angela felt helpless, and hopeless. She didn't like this at all. "God, what are we gonna do?"
Booth knew he needed to keep a level head. Right now, that was what would save both of them. "Well, it's a crime scene, alright. They'll look for tire tracks. They'll check the security cameras." He then pointed to Zach, "I need you to be Dr. Brennan."
Zach shook his head confused, "I don't know what that means."
Cam told him in terms he would understand, "It means, keep working the case."
Booth watched as Zach hurried away. He looked at Cam. She was the boss, she should know what Hodgins was working on, "Alright, I need to know why Hodgins was chasing after Bones."
Cam nodded her head, "I'll look at his notes."
Angela was not going to just sit around and worry. She needed to do something, "Well, what about me?"
Booth knew he should be the one to call, but he couldn't deal with that right now. "Call Bone's brother, Russ, and tell him what's going on. I'm gonna go talk to the chairman of The Cantilever Group." Booths turned to leave the garage as Cam picked up her phone and dialed for a team to come in.
~BONES~
Brennan was back in the front seat of the car. She had just taken inventory of their supplies. "We have water, towels, my mini kit, ibuprofen, two cell phones no batteries, a digital camera with a back up battery and uh, a handful of pens."
Hodgins tried to joke as he said, "That one's a laser pointer…"
Brennan shook her head at his joke and held up her book, "And uh, a copy of my novel."
Hodgins laughed softly at that. Of course she would have one. "Hey. We can read it to each other if we get bored."
Brennan pulled perfume out of a pouch as she read the type, "Deep Rhapsody?"
Hodgins winced slightly before he said, "Careful. That's 3 grand a quarter ounce." He winced even more so in pain.
Brennan tried to joke to distract him from the pain. "Yeah. I'd make that face too, if I spent $3,000 on perfume."
Hodgins shook his head as he tried to steady his breathing. "Oh man. Something – something – my leg."
Brennan reached for the bottle of ibuprofen and poured a few pills into her hand, "Here." She then grabbed one of the bottles of water, "Here." She looked at Hodgins as she handed them to him and said, "I'm worried you have compartment syndrome."
Hodgins swallowed the pills and looked at her concerned, fear evident in his eyes. "Is that terminal? I mean within the next few hours?"
Brennan didn't like seeing Hodgins in this much pain. She knew what that syndrome could do. But they needed to stay realistic about their matter. She would only tell him, if he asked. "No."
Hodgins could sense that there was more behind that 'no' than she was giving. Which meant that it was bad. "But…"
Brennan sighed as she looked down. She slowly looked back up at him and had a small flash of her brother, Russ, sitting there injured. She shook it off though, "It's gonna get painful."
Hodgins looked at her like she was crazy. "More painful than now?"
Brennan nodded slowly, "Yeah. Slip into shock and die painful."
Hodgins laughed dubiously, "Well, there's nothing we can do about that."
Brennan looked at him sadly. "Actually, there is."
Hodgins looked at her with wide eyes. "Oh, I'm not gonna like this, am I?"
Brennan shook her head. Hodgins nodded his head in understanding. She positioned him quietly, stoically. He then asked her for her book and one of the pens quietly. Brennan handed them over to him and then prepared herself for what she was about to do. She had grown to look at Hodgins as sort of like a brother over their years of working together. She was terrified about what could happen if she caused Hodgins more harm than good from this surgery. She heard him tear a page out of her book. She then heard the scribble of his pen against the paper. He folded it and placed it in his jacket pocket. He spoke softly, "Okay. I'm ready."
Brennan inquired softly, "Was that a note to Angela?"
Hodgins tried to stay brave, optimistic of the outcome. But his emotions started to come forward a little as tears welled up in his eyes. "Yes. Just in case, that whatever you're gonna do to me sends me into shock. I might die." He then joked, "Upside? Me not breathing, doubles your survival time."
Brennan didn't laugh. She hated that thought. If she killed Hodgins, she didn't know what she would after, if she was saved. How she could live with that. "I'm not interested in surviving that way. What I'm going to do is make a long incision in the fascia to release the pressure inside."
Hodgins asked tentatively, "And…how long is a long incision? Wait, ya know what? Don't tell me."
Brennan told him through her own emotions, "It's best if I do it very fast and without empathy." She handed him a gag for his mouth, "Here. Hang on to something and don't fight passing out." She held the knife next to his leg, ready to make the incision as Hodgins placed the gag in his mouth and held on to the emergency handles in the back of the car. Brennan asked quietly, "You ready?" He nodded and she prepared to cut into him, but she found a piece of something stuck in his leg. "Wait…"
Hodgins dropped the gag from his mouth as he asked, "What is that?"
Brennan looked at it closely as she said, "Evidence of what happened to you. Let's – let's worry about it later."
Hodgins handed her book to her and said, "Here, just put it in the pages of your book. I'll take a look at it later." He put the gag back in his mouth but then mumbled something that Brennan couldn't understand.
Brennan looked at him and said sympathetically, "It's best if you don't talk right now."
He spat out the gag and told her through tears, "I'm nuts about Angela. Over the moon. Stupid in love with her. That's why I bought her that, that crazy, expensive perfume. Man gives you a bottle of perfume like that, it says…it says 'I Love You'. There. I said it out loud." He put the gag back in his mouth and got back into position. Brennan looked at him for a second, his confession hitting her closely. But he was ready. Brennan made the incision down his leg. His scream would forever be imprinted in her brain, but she remained impartial to it. She needed to do this for him.
~BONES~
Booth sighed heavily. He just needed more time and money and just more goddamn resources. He was starting to loss his patience and his calm demeanor. He told Cam quietly, "I can't get the ransom together, not in the time." He could get what money they had and ask for a few favors, but not in the time they had. "All right, The Cantilever Group has got this policy – no proof of life from the kidnapper, no ransom."
Cam looked at him in disbelief, "Not ever for the boss?"
Booth shook his head in frustration, "It's his rule. It's no exceptions. I'd say we need more time, but The Grave Digger doesn't give us that – or proof of life."
Cam whispered softly, "Booth, I don't think it's a coincidence that he took Brennan when he did."
Booth pushed off the railing he had been leaning on. He felt immense guilt. If he had been with her, if only he had been with her. "Yeah, I was kinda thinking the same thing."
~BONES~
Brennan had been trying to get some of the wires form the car horn and see if her idea would work. The horn honked loudly, startling Hodgins awake. Brennan sighed in relief at his sound of shock, "Thank god I didn't kill you."
Hodgins looked at his new position and asked drowsily, "How long was I unconscious?"
Brennan looked at him concerned, "For a while. How's your leg?"
Hodgins looked down at his legs and then smiled back at her, "Better. Lots better. What are you doing?"
Brennan smiled at that news and then smiled even more as she told him her plan. "Hotwiring the phone to the horn so we can send a message."
Hodgins questioned, "From underground?"
Brennan pointed at the radio as she told him, "We get radio reception."
Hodgins nodded his head as he did some math in his mind, "Direct current 12 volt will burn out the circuits in a 4.2 volt cell phone in a microsecond. Better jury-rig a resistor."
Brennan hadn't thought about that. "Smart."
Hodgins pushed himself up a little more as he said, "Might work long enough to send a single burst transmission."
Brennan nodded in understanding. "Very short text message. Booth can trace it to a cell phone relay tower."
Hodgins laughed bitterly almost, "What message should we send? Goodbye? Nice to know ya?"
Brennan knew that they needed to send something that could help save them. She smiled as she asked, "What are we surrounded by?"
Hodgins looked around, "Pain. Despair…and a subsoil accumulation of agglutinate aridosols.
Brennan told him plainly, "Dirt."
Hodgins would have glared at her, but was too tired to try. "I don't like the term 'dirt'."
Brennan had gotten what she wanted out of him. That spark. "Alright," she pickws up a handful of dirt from inside the car and handed it to him, "Tell me something I don't know."
Hodgins examined the dirt. "Ash. Hints of nitrogen and sulfur."
Brennan asked, "So where are we?"
Hodgins smiled. He knew where they were. "We're in Bituminous Coal country. Basically, Virginia."
Brennan sighed. That wasn't enough though. Virginia was a big state. "We need more than that."
Hodgins thought of something. "The laser and we need Benzophenone."
Brennan thought about that, "Benzophenone. Some soaps and plastic packaging, sunscreen – we don't have any sunscreen. Angela's perfume."
Hodgins watched her as she opened the vial. "Three. Grand. That cost."
Brennan looked at him and laughed softly, "Hodgins, I will split the cost when we get out of here."
Hodgins looked at her. If they were going to die, he wanted her to know about him. "There's something you don't know about me. I'm rich."
Brennan smiled at that admission. "Me too."
Hodgins shook his head. He hoped she wouldn't think of him differently, "No. No. You're – well off. My family owns The Cantilever Group and there's not many of us left alive. One to be exact. Me."
Brennan laughed softly, "Okay. I won't split it with you." She poured the perfume into the dirt and Hodgins mixed it around with his finger. She sniffed it slightly and said, "It smells nice."
Hodgins laughed as he told her, "I need the camera." She picked up the camera and handed it to him. He then used it to examine the dirt more closely. He looked up at her excitedly, "I know where we are."
~BONES~
Booth was with Vega in his office as Vega told him, "There's not negotiating with The Grave Digger."
Booth was growing frustrated. They were running out of time. He just wanted to punch something or someone. Anything really. He restrained himself though and asked tersely, "You've been through this what – ah – five times with this guy?"
Vega nodded as he tried to reason, "Exactly. So I know him, and he does not negotiate."
Booth pushed off his desk and snapped, "Oh, what? What – no - chat room action with him?"
Vega glared at him. "Are you nuts? I hate the son of a bitch."
Booth was too angry to care what he said, "Why? He's made you rich."
Vega had had enough of Booth's disdain for him. So he told him factually, "You know what? You just need to deal with the facts. That if you can't put the ransom together in the time he gave you, your partner is dead."
Booth lost it then. He grabbed Vega by the throat and threw him down on the table. He kept a firm hold on his neck as he told him menacingly, "Here's the deal, all right. You have a relationship with this guy, what they call symbiotic – you benefit from each other – hmm. So know this." He leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "That deadline comes around, and my wife is still underground – I will end you. You understand? Yeah?" He picked him off of the table and told him seriously, "Three hours to live." He shoved Vega out of his office as he said, "Better hurry." And Booth was dead serious. Because if his Bones died, he would lose it.
~BONES~
Booth was standing behind his chair, thinking, when he received a message on his phone. He looked down and saw that is was from Bones. His heart nearly leapt out of his chest. She was still alive. However, he had no clue what the hell the message meant…But the squints would. They had to know.
~BONES~
Everyone was gather again on the platform around a computer screen, that read the numbers 6 7 16 M1.4.
Booth looked at the group desperately, "Does it mean anything to anybody?"
Cam shook her head. It was gibberish, "They're getting low on oxygen."
Zach nodded in agreement, "Hypoxia leads to mental confusion."
Booth wouldn't take that. He knew that Brennan would stay logical even with depleted amount of oxygen. "It's Bones. It means something."
Angela asked, "Did you try just dialing the number?"
Booth just wanted to shout and scream and throw something and just breakdown, but he needed to stay strong. "I tried all the dumb guy, normal stuff. Okay, that's why I'm here talking to the Brain Trust. All right. Think! Eggheads. Work it!"
Cam didn't understand why he was reacting so strongly to this. I mean sure, their friends lives were at stake but this was so much more than that type of reaction. She yelled at him, "Booth. They're not cops!"
Booth yelled back, "We're running out of time!"
Zach looked at a different monitor and said dreadfully, "Minor correction. Dr. Brennan and Hodgins run out of air in….4 seconds." The clock counted down to 0 as Zach said, "We are out of time." Booth just wanted to collapse into a heap at that. But he wouldn't accept that. No, Bones was still alive. She had to be.
~BONES~
Brennan had cut through the back seat into the trunk and punctured a tire to get more air for them. They leaned up against the seat and breathed it in. Hodgins asked breathlessly, "How much extra time?"
Brennan looked at him tiredly, "A little. There are 4 extra tires, but we can't get to them. Is there anything else?"
Hodgins sighed dejectedly, "If the ransom was paid, we'd be out by now. Why prolong the inevitable?"
Brennan shook her head slightly, "Booth will find us."
Hodgins smirked slightly at Brennan's words. "You have a lot of faith in Booth."
Brennan knew her husband wouldn't stop looking for her. "No. Faith is an irrational belief in something that is logically impossible. Over many years, I've seen what Booth can do. It's not faith."
Hodgins laughed breathlessly. "No offense – and I'm not just saying this because you filleted me with a knife. We are out of air. We don't know if our message got out, much less if anyone understood it and we are buried underground. What you have is faith, baby. Sorry. The baby thing is a reflex." Brennan looked down as tears gathered in her eyes. Hodgins immediately felt bad. "I'm sorry Dr. B, I didn't mean to upset you."
Brennan wiped away her tears, trying to control her emotions. "It's not that. I just…" Brennan took in a small shaky breath. Was she really going to do this? Hodgins had revealed his secrets to her. "I know Booth will find us because he won't stop looking for me. Even when all odds are against him, he will continue to look for me." Brennan saw the confusion on Hodgins face, so she told him, "Because we love each other."
Hodgins nodded his head, starting to understand her. "You guys are dating."
Brennan's tears started to roll down her cheeks as she shook her head. "Hodgins, it's so much more than that. I love Booth, Hodgins. I love my husband."
Hodgins looked at her in shock. Had he just heard her right? Or was it the lack of oxygen? "What? You guys are married?"
Brennan reined in her emotions one last time as she nodded her head. She then took in a shaky breath as she told him, "We really shouldn't talk right now – to conserve air."
Hodgins looked at her and saw what was at stake for everyone involved. He wanted a chance with Angela. But Brennan she already had someone. Booth. And Booth would be destroyed if they died. He was going to put a little faith in him as well. That's when an idea came to him, "I need the camera batteries and the preservative powder from your kit."
Brennan looked at him confused for a second before it dawned on her, "Soda ash and lithium? You're going to make a carbon dioxide scrubber?"
Hodgins nodded his head as he smiled, "If you can perform surgery out of thin air, then I can pull a little thin air out of thin air." They laughed, knowing that at least they'll be able to extend their time by a bit more so their team could have more time to find them. So Booth could.
~BONES~
Cam tied to refocus the group. "Okay. Zach figured out what stun gun The Grave Digger uses and how it's modified. Thanks to Angela, we know that The Grave Digger has a customized aluminum casing in the back of his vehicle…"
Booth was so close. He could feel it! His gut was clenching in pain at just the thought of losing his love. He almost yelled at the squints, "I got about a hundred agents working that angle. What does this mean, right here?" He tapped the monitor with great force. "What does that mean?
Zach looked at him sadly, "You're forgetting something. Brennan and Hodgins are out of air."
Booth was not going to give up now. No, he would not have that. "Great. You wanna give up, huh? This is Bones we're talking about and Hodgins. You really think they didn't find a way to extend their air supply! Hell, they found away to send us a message to ask us for help." He hit the monitor again with an open hand, with even greater force. "And you want to give up because of math."
~BONES~
Hodgins was scraping out the lithium from inside the battery into an ashtray as he told Brennan, "Soda ash. Lithium reacts high concentrations of carbon dioxide. Produces oxygen." They watched as the poured out water stared to foam and they laughed out or relief.
Brennan moved to the front seat, as she started on her other plan. "That gives us just long enough."
Hodgins looked at her confused, "Long enough for what?"
Brennan looked at him seriously, "My next idea, which could kill us. Airbags."
Hodgins laughed softly, "They aren't actually bags of air.."
Brennan shook her head. "I'm not looking to extend our survival underground. I'm looking to blow our way out of here."
Hodgins eyes widened as he understood what she was saying. "Using the explosives from the air bags? That could definitely kill us."
Brennan told him stoically, "So it'll be doing nothing." She went back to work on the airbags.
Hodgins looked at her. If they were going to die and Booth did fine them…He had already made a note to Angela. He ripped a page out of her book and handed it to her. He smiled softly as he asked knowingly, "Anyone you wanna say goodbye to?"
Brennan looked at him and then gently took the paper from him gratefully. She did want to write something.
~BONES~
Zach tried to work through what the message could mean. "It's not a numerical alphabetical code or an equation."
Angela also said, "It's not GPS coordinates or indications of topography."
Booth nodded his head at their progress. "Great. Then what is it?"
Cam got their attention, "Can I make a suggestion? See, this is exactly why I was sent here. You guys are brilliant, but you won't make intuitive leaps."
Zach looked at her skeptically, "You mean 'jump to conclusions'."
Cam nodded, "That's exactly what I mean. This is a message from one of them to one of us. Specific. Focused. Who was it meant to get to?"
Booth knew that Brennan knew that he would never give up. "Easy. Brennan's cell to mine, right? The message was for me. We have an understanding, we…" he was about to say it, but he didn't, "work together."
Angela shook her head as she said emotionally, "We all work together. She's my best friend. And Hodgins – Hodgins…"
Cam looked at her as if it was obvious, "She's right. We should assume the message is from Hodgins not from Brennan."
Booth looked at her confused, "Why?"
Cam told him reasonably, "Because they're buried alive…"
Angela finished, "And Hodgins is all about dirt."
Booth could accept that, "Okay. Great. The message is about dirt, but who's it to?"
Zach tried to follow that thought, "Angela. Hodgins is all about dirt and Angela."
Angela shook her head, "But it's numbers, Zack. It's for you. Hodgins would have written me a line of poetry or something."
Vega and Janine walked into the lab just off the platform. He told Booth sadly, now understanding why he reacted so strongly, "Agent Booth. Janine used all her contacts to get me on all the local news shows. Now, I explained that we needed more time. I asked him to call. I'm sorry, but he's completely consistent."
That's when Zach found it. "6, 7, 16. Carbon, Nitrogen and Sulfur on the periodic table of elements. They are buried in coal rich soil."
Booth looked at the map, having forgotten completely about Vega. "Ya gotta narrow it down, Zach."
Angela encouraged, "Keep going, Zach."
Zach typed some more, "Uh - mineral components of coal are all the same. It's the organic components that provide a unique fingerprint. They are called, mascerals. They fluoresce at different levels. A reflectance of 1.4 is quite rare – suggesting a high concentration of inertinite."
Booth could sense that that meant something. "Zach, tell me what that means."
Angela smiled widely, "It means he knows where they are."
Booth needed to hear it from him though. "Zach…"
Zach pinpointed it exactly and smiled at Booth. "I know where they are." Booth nearly cried out of joy.
~BONES~
Brennan had jumper cable set up across the dashboard of the car with the explosives. Hodgins asked from the back seat, "Can this possibly work?"
Brennan looked back at him and told him honestly, "I'm not really an explosives expert…but the dash might shape the charge enough to blow out the windshield. If we're less than 4 feet beneath the surface, this charge could blow us to freedom."
Hodgins asked worriedly, "And if we're buried more than 4 feet deep?"
Brennan told him sadly, "Then the concussion will turn our brains into jelly."
Hodgins joked, "Well, then we can run for Congress, so it's a win-win."
Brennan laughed softly. She then said seriously, "We should get as far away from the explosion as possible."
Hodgins smiled softly, "I already am." He extended his hand, "Care to join me."
~BONES~
The group arrived at the location, with extra help from the FBI, and stood on the edge of a hill, looking over the area below in hopes that they'll see something that will lead them to Brennan and Hodgins.
Booth looked down at the vast amount of dirt. She was there. They were there. He just knew it. Now if only there was some type of sign. "Come on, people. They've gotta be here. Just look for anything – tire tracks, recent digging, mounds, depressions, anything!"
~BONES~
Brennan looked at Hodgins and asked, "Ready?"
Hodgins nodded slightly and whispered, "Yeah." He then looked at her and stated with emotion clogging his throat, "Dr. Brennan. It's been a privilege." He extended his hand to her, but Brennan hugged him instead and whispered in his ear, "Booth will find us no matter what." She held him tightly as fresh tears came to her eyes.
~BONES~
Booth continued scanning the quarry. He was growing frustrated by not being able to see anything. His wife was dying and he couldn't do anything to help her! And that's when he saw it. A puff of dust shot up from the ground. Without even a hesitation, he ran down the slope, as fast as he could, toward the spot and immediately started digging for his life. For Brennan's life, for Hodgins' life. It felt like he was digging for hours when he felt a hand hit his own. He grasped it immediately and pulled with all his strength. He knew it was his wife, pure relief and happiness rushing through him. Booth dragged her out of the dirt, bringing her against his body – hugging her, afraid she would disappear in front of him, as he laid her down. Everyone else started to arrive and dig to find Hodgins as Brennan coughed out, "Get…Hodgins…"
Booth left her side briefly to help dig out Hodgins. Booth was oblivious to everything else though after Hodgins was pulled out. He just looked at Brennan and brought her back into a fierce hug. He felt Brennan hug him back with as much strength and fierceness as him. He hugged her tighter as she finally let her sobs escape. He whispered in her ear, "I'm here Bren. I've got you, baby. I love you so much." He placed soft, discreet kisses on her cheek.
Brennan clung to Booth though. She didn't want all of this to be a dream. "I was so scared Booth. Thank you, thank you Booth."
~BONES~
Booth sat with Brennan in her hospital room in the ER. The nurse had just put a nasal cannula to provide some oxygen since Brennan didn't want the restriction of a face mask. Booth had his duffel bag in between his feet on the floor with a change of clothes for both him and her in it. He held onto Brennan's hand as he looked down at the bag. She was there with him.
Brennan had been watching him while she laid in the bed, taking deep slow breaths to oxygenate her body again. Ever since they had entered the ambulance Booth had been quiet. She didn't know what he was thinking since he wouldn't look at her directly. But she knew that he was tense, his muscles hadn't relaxed yet. She slid her free hand over his and squeezed it softly, "Booth, I need to tell you something."
That caused Booth to look at her and she saw tears in his eyes. She gently touched his cheek and he leaned into it bringing his left hand to rest on top of their intertwined fingers. Everyone else was in the waiting room trying to get information on Hodgins condition. Booth had only been allowed with Brennan since he was her husband. Brennan wiped away a tear that had made its way out and brought her hand down onto his hand, when Booth sniffed softly and looked back down again. She knew that he was trying to get control of his feelings. That's when she felt the cool sensation of metal against her hand. She looked down and saw that Booth was wearing his wedding band. He rarely wore his, usually on the weekends or when they weren't at work or around friends.
She traced the white gold band gently, as Booth watched her. His dirt covered skin had great contrast against the shine of the metal. For some reason, what she was doing caused him to laugh softly. "God, Bones. I almost lost you. I don't know what I would have done if I did." Brennan tugged at his hand, making him look at her.
She smiled gently. "But you didn't loss me. I'm right here Booth."
Booth nodded as he took in a steadying breath. The past 12 hours had finally caught up to him emotionally and he hated that he wasn't being the strong one. Brennan needed him, she had been the one buried. He smiled affectionately at her, "How are you, really?"
Brennan leaned back and rested her head against her pillow as she thought about it. "I'm relatively okay. My neck still hurts, but my breathing seems much better due to the oxygen. I still don't remember much of what happened before I was abducted but I'm not sure I'll ever fully gain back those memories. Other than that I suspect I should…" But then she saw the look Booth was giving her and she sighed. "I find that I'm afraid to fall asleep. Even though my body is telling me to, I fear that when I wake up I'll be back in the car."
Brennan was surprised when Booth stood up suddenly. She was afraid that he'd leave, but he did the exact opposite. He brought down her railing and slid into the bed next to her, bringing her close to his chest. "Bones, I'll be right there with you. When you wake up I'll be right beside you, holding you. Okay? You're not alone in this. I'm right here, babe."
Brennan snuggled deeper into his embrace, finally saying what she wanted to tell him. "Booth, I have to tell you something. When Hodgins and I were down there…Hodgins told me some things that he hadn't told anyone really. And then," she ran her hand along his chest slowly, "well, when we were running out of air, I didn't want to die without someone knowing how I felt about you. I know that, that is irrational, but I wanted to let him know that I'm not as cold as some people say I am."
Booth wrapped his arm around her and held her tight against him, "Bones, you're not cold."
Brennan waved it off though, "I know that and you know that. But I also know that I can come off as abrasive and clinical. I just wanted him to know that it wasn't true. So I told him about us. I told him that I knew you find us and that I loved you, my husband." She waited for him to respond, but when he didn't she went on gently went on, "I didn't have time to tell him in detail why we haven't told anyone, but I'm sure that he would keep it between us."
At his silence, Brennan thought that he was angry with her. So she took a chance and glanced up at him. Instead of anger all she saw was love in his eyes. He gently brushed some of her hair behind her ear, "Bones, I love you so much."
She asked softly, "You're not mad?"
He laughed quietly at that, "Mad? God, no Bones. Why would I be mad? I don't care if Hodgins knows. Hell I would tell everyone but that could jeopardize what we have as partners and I still can't risk you getting hurt because of my past case."
Brennan nodded slowly as she finally let her eyes drift closed, not fearing it anymore. Booth stroked her back gently as a doctor pulled back their curtain and walked in. Brennan opened her eyes slowly as the doctor came up to them with a warm smile. "Hi, I'm Dr. Greene. I just need to check how your breathing is Dr. Brennan and if everything sounds good, you'll be able to go home."
Booth was about to slide out of the bed, but Brennan held onto him, silently asking him to stay close. So he sat on the edge of the bed and held her hand, stroking it tenderly, as the doctor listened to her breathe. After a few moments of silence, the doctor stepped back with a smile. "Well, everything sounds good. What I'm recommending for you is a good night of rest. But everything else looks good. I hope everything goes well with you, Dr. Brennan." He then nodded to Booth, "Agent Booth."
Before he could leave though, Brennan asked, "Dr. Greene, how is Dr. Hodgins?"
He turned around slowly, debating whether he should tell them. Hodgins didn't have any family and she had just been through a traumatic event with him. "Dr. Hodgins is in surgery right now to fix his broken leg. You saved his life by the surgery you performed on him and I expect him to make a full recovery."
Brennan nodded slowly, happy to hear that Hodgins was going to be okay. "Thank you." As the doctor left Brennan turned to Booth and smiled, "Let's go home. I find that I miss it very much."
Booth smiled as he slid out of her bed and grabbed the duffel bag off the floor. "Okay Bones. But I just need to make one last stop before we go."
~BONES~
Booth and Brennan were sitting in the first pew in the church hospital as Booth prayed. After he was done he sat back. Brennan whispered, "What did you ask for?"
Booth sat back completely as he felt Brennan's head rest against his shoulder, "That's between me and a certain Saint. Although, I did ask for a little help finding The Grave Digger."
Brennan smiled softly, "Good move." She took in a deep breath, getting wafted by a strong scent. "What's that smell?"
Booth pointed to the source, "The candles." After a moment of silence he whispered, "And I said Thanks. You should try it sometime."
Brennan whispered back, "If I were going to pray, I would have done it just before we set off the explosion."
Booth intertwined their fingers and asked, "And you didn't?"
Brennan looked at Booth, "No. See, if there was a God, which there isn't…"
Booth shushed her and looked at her as if she was crazy, "Do you see where we are?"
Brennan ignored that part and said, "And if I were someone who believed he had a plan…"
Booth whispered to her, "…which I do…"
Brennan nodded, "Then I'd be tempted to think He wanted me to go through something like I went through because it might make me more open to the whole….concept."
Booth looked at her and smiled softly, "Mhmm. It obviously hasn't."
Brennan smiled as she turned to face Booth, caressing his cheek. "I'm okay with you thanking God for saving me and Hodgins."
Booth looked down, before he looked back up at her. Rare emotion swarming in his eyes. "That's not what I thanked Him for. I thanked Him for saving…all of us. It was all of us. Every. Single. One. You take one of us away, and you and Hodgins are in that hole forever. And I'm thankful for that."
Brennan leaned forward and kissed his lips softly. As she leaned back, she whispered – her voice cracking with emotion, "I knew you wouldn't give up."
Booth leaned his forehead against hers and whispered back, "I knew you wouldn't give up."
A/N: So I guess I'll have three people find out this season. I hadn't thought about Vega finding out, but he did and so technically three people find out. I hope I did justice to this amazing episode and I look forward to all your reviews. I wrote Brennan as being vulnerable in the hospital because, well, that's how people usually react to such circumstances. I also know that a doctor would never tell Brennan about Hodgins condition, but let's just ignore that fact.
