I'm posting this just slightly early because I'm working on another piece… a strictly fluff one-shot that I hope to post tomorrow. This one will be wrapping up in a few chapters, and I hope you've enjoyed the ride. ;-) Thanks again to everyone who has alerted and favorite this story! Reviews would be GREATLY appreciated.
Speaking of great appreciation….thanks so much to Ceeray3, without whom this story wouldn't have seen the light of day. Thanks for being the most incredible friend… for holding my hand (metaphorically, LOL) and for building my confidence. Thank you for all your time, effort and insight you've brought to the table. You're amazing.
Now, on with the show. Looking forward to your thoughts on this one!
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The Family in the Fieldwork
Chapter Nine
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"Looks pretty quiet," Tony said as they pulled up alongside an old warehouse. "Let's go in and check it out."
"You take the front," Booth said as they got out of the car. "I'll go around back."
"Don't go getting yourself shot," Tony quipped. "Your wife scares me."
"My wife scares you?" Booth said with a chuckle. "At least mine's not a trained assassin."
"Right," Tony said. "Ziva might know eighteen ways to kill a man with a paperclip, but Temperance could get rid of the body!"
"You're right," Booth said, smiling though he was completely serious. "Just be careful," he added as they went their separate ways.
Tony made his way into the front of the warehouse and found it empty. He scaled along the wall of the cavernous room until he made his way to a door at the back.
Booth came in from the back and scaled the wall in the opposite direction. He made his way around the empty room and was convinced they were alone by the time he found Tony in what appeared to be an office in the back.
"There's nobody here," Booth said. "Which means we have to get out."
"What?" Tony said, incredulous. "This is a verified Morgan Hill property. We know they've run drugs through here. There could be something here," he said, pointing out the records he'd found."
"We don't have a warrant," Booth said. "We could have used imminent danger if Michaela had been here… anything else is fruit from a poisoned tree."
"You really are a Boy Scout, aren't you?"
"You've apparently never been to court with Caroline Julian," Booth said. "She'd skin us six ways to Sunday if we screwed up her conviction on a technicality. Let's get out of here."
As they were walking back to the car, Tony caught a glimpse of blonde hair flying around the corner.
"Hey!" he called out, preparing to give chase.
Booth was right on his heels as they ran down the alley.
"Hold it!" Tony yelled as he saw the blonde up ahead of them.
"Freeze!" Booth called. "FBI!"
Booth stopped in his tracks as the woman in front of them stopped and turned around.
"Hannah?" he said.
Tony watched, amused as the woman licked her lips and looked at Booth like he was a Grade A hunk of Kobe Beef.
"Well, if it isn't Master Sergeant Seeley Booth," the woman drawled.
"It's actually Assistant Deputy Director Booth," Booth corrected. He caught Tony's amused face out of the corner of his eye. "Hannah Burley," he said, making introductions, "Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo."
Tony bit back laughter as the woman sidled up to Booth.
"You're still looking good, Seeley," she said.
He held up his left hand.
"Still married, Hannah," he said with a smile.
"Pity," she said, turning her attention to Tony.
"Me, too," Tony said, flashing his wedding band.
"Hannah is a journalist," Booth said.
"Oh, really?" Tony asked with a raise of his eyebrow. "And what brings you down here, Ms. Burley?"
"The same thing that brought you boys down here, I imagine," she offered. "I got a lead that the Morgan Hill Gang was working out of one of these warehouses. Word on the street is that they might know something about Michaela Austin's disappearance."
"Word on the street?" Tony asked.
"You're cute, but I'm not giving up my source, Special Agent DiNozzo," Hannah replied.
"Stay out of this, Hannah," Booth said.
"You know I'm not gonna back off from a story, Seeley. Why is it so important to you that I do, anyway? If you're covering something up, you know I'm going to find it."
"I mean it, Hannah," Booth said, his frustration mounting. "You know that this has to stay out of the press for as long as possible. A young woman's life may depend on it."
"Or maybe, if we put the story out there, some concerned citizen might come forward with some useful information…."
"Or we'll have to waste valuable time and resources dealing with a bunch of crackpots," Booth said, clenching his fists at his sides. For a woman that he never slept with, Hannah was insanely good at pushing his buttons. "Who are you working for these days, Hannah?"
"The Post," she answered.
Booth was reminded of his conversation with Cullen a few days ago when this whole mess began.
"The New York Post," he clarified.
"Is there any other?" she quipped.
"You've been nosing around this case since the day I got it," Booth said. "What gives, Hannah? This isn't really your style, is it?"
"I moved stateside two years ago," she told him. "The longer this war goes on, the harder it is to deal with, you know? Yeah," she said, answering her own question. "You do know. Anyway, I needed a break, so the network sent me to New York. The producers and I had a little creative difference of opinion and we decided to part ways. I started writing freelance pieces for the Post and eventually they took me on full time."
Tony watched as Booth listened. Something like recognition flashed behind Booth's eyes as he realized why Hannah was really here. She had been writing about Michaela… that had to be it. He made a mental note to look up some of Hannah's recent stories.
"How well do you know Michaela Austin?"
"I don't know her," Hannah replied. "Why do you ask?"
"This is a big story," Booth admitted, "but it isn't the kind of story you normally cover. There's a reason you're here."
"You might be right," she said, sidling up to him again.
"I know I am," he answered, removing her hand from his chest. "Stay out of this, Hannah."
"Is that an order, Director Booth?" she asked. "Because I'd hate to the think that the FBI is obstructing the American free press from pursuing a valid story… and I know you're not about to deny my Freedom of Speech…"
"Calm down, Hannah," Booth said, as Tony watched in bemusement. "Nobody's denying anybody anything. But I really need for you to back off of this… just for a little while. You know I can't promise you an exclusive, but I can make sure that when it is time for this story to break that you get a front row seat."
"How magnanimous of you," she said with a sneer and a roll of her eyes.
"Come on, Hannah," Booth said. "Give me a break, will you?"
"I'll think about it," she replied. "I won't back off the story, but I will wait to send it to press… at least for a little while."
"Thank you," Booth said.
"The least I can do for the man who saved my life," she replied with a wink. She recalled the offer she'd made as a way of thanking him back in Afghanistan. She had been beyond shocked when he'd turned her down underneath that old fig tree, but it had caused her to be even more intrigued by him. Faithful and honorable, Seeley Booth was the last of a dying breed.
As fascinating as this exchange had been to watch, Tony cleared his throat to remind the other two of his presence.
"We need to get out of here," he said.
"Yes," Booth answered, "we do. We all do," he added pointedly at Hannah.
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Booth breathed a sigh of relief as he walked in through his front door. The case was wearing on him, and the day had been a long one… but none of that mattered now that he was home with Bones and his kids.
It was late and he figured that the kids, or at least Mia, had already gone to bed. He walked in to the kitchen and found his wife sitting at the table with her laptop.
"Hey," he said, leaning over her shoulder to place a kiss on her cheek. "What are you doing out here?"
"I was working in the study," she said, "but I figured that this would be your first stop when you got home."
He smiled, as she stood up to follow him to the counter. It amazed him still, that after five years of marriage it seems as if they were still making up for all those years they spent dancing around one another.
"I missed you, too," he said, taking her into his arms and leaning in to press his lips against hers.
"I didn't say I missed you," she protested as the kiss ended.
"You didn't have to," he replied, flashing the smile that was for her and her alone.
She leaned up again for a quick kiss before stepping from his embrace.
"Your dinner is in the microwave," she said.
"Great," he said. "Thanks."
He went about reheating his plate and grabbed a beer from the 'fridge as she went back to work at the table.
"What are you working on?" he asked.
"The lab's budget," she replied.
"I'm sorry," he said with a laugh as he sat down across from her with his plate.
"I'm sure you are," she said with a laugh. "Did you and Tony find anything?"
"Not really," he answered, taking a bite. "There wasn't anyone there. DiNozzo found an office and saw some things that indicated we were in the right place. It was definitely a Morgan Hill territory, but I wanted to make sure we got the hell out of there so we didn't poison any evidence."
"Caroline would kill you," Brennan agreed.
"You'll never guess what we did find though," he told her as he took a bite of pasta.
"What?"
"Or, I guess I should say you'll never guess who we found…"
"Okay. Who?"
"Remember that journalist, Hannah Burley?"
"The one who wanted to get into your fatigues in Afghanistan?"
Booth laughed. Brennan didn't.
"Yeah," he said. "She's the one who was embedded with our unit. Apparently, she's the reporter Cullen was complaining about the other day. Tony and I caught her sneaking around the warehouse."
"What was she doing there?"
"Said she was following a lead," Booth answered. "She thinks Morgan Hill has something to do with Michaela Austin's disappearance."
"How could she possibly know that?"
"I don't know," Booth said with a sigh. "Of course she's not gonna reveal her source. I think I did manage to get her to back off for at least a little while. I have the Major Crimes team doing a little checking on her."
"I'm looking forward to meeting her," Brennan said.
Only Booth would have picked up the predatory tone in her voice. He had to admit he loved when her possessive side came out, but after the way Hannah had behaved this evening he was pretty sure he'd be better off to keep his wife as far away from her as possible.
He'd spent the whole ride back to NCIS explaining to Tony how he'd met the pretty blonde. She had been embedded in his unit during his last tour in Afghanistan. It wasn't a surprise to the other agent to hear that the reporter had been caught inside a restricted zone. He finally let out the laughter that he'd been holding in all night when Booth told him how she'd tried to repay him for saving her life from insurgents' fire.
"No, she didn't," Tony said.
"She did," Booth replied. "Once everything was calmed down in the town square, she walked over to this fig tree. It was a little bit away from everything else, but still…"
"Oh my god," Tony said, catching his breath from laughter. "That is priceless. She really thought you would do it right there?"
"Yeah," Booth answered, shaking his head. "Even if it hadn't been only two months after my honeymoon… Who does that kind of thing?"
"Hannah Burley, apparently," Tony replied. "She's hot, Booth. And she's hot for you. If I were you, I'd keep her away from the little woman, if you know what I mean."
"I hear ya," Booth said. "And I'd advise against using the term 'little woman' when my beautiful wife is around… I assume you like your man parts the way they are."
Tony winced.
"Seriously, man," he said. "That woman is trouble with a capital 'T' and not just for your marriage. She knows something about the case that she's not telling."
"I know," Booth agreed, taking out his phone. "I'm getting my guys on it right now. I'm sure that this isn't her first story about Michaela Austin, but I what I wanna know is how in the hell she knew about that warehouse before we did."
"The kids already in bed?" he asked, taking a pull on his beer.
"Parker is downstairs watching the Phillies game," she answered. "Mia is in bed. I read her book, but I promised her you'd come in to kiss her goodnight. She was so cute tonight. She was worried you wouldn't get any dinner."
"That's my Sunshine," he said, beaming. "Always looking out for her old man."
He stood up and took his empty plate to the sink.
"I think I'll go up and check in on her," he said.
"That's a good idea," she replied. "I'm almost finished with this spreadsheet. Don't think I didn't notice that little change of subject. We can continue discussing Ms. Burley when you come back down."
Booth walked away shaking his head. He really was a lucky man.
