Ten: Snow

Booth looked out the glass pane door wondering how the hell he was supposed to get back to the office so that he could gather his stuff to head home. Usually he had no problem leaving the squints behind but things had taken a turn for the worse. He had headed for the lab under a very gray sky and by the time he pulled up outside the Jeffersonian the big, fat snowflakes had started falling. Now, he liked the snow but he preferred it in moderation. And never anything more than a foot. After all, who wanted to go traipsing through all that snow? It would find ways into his shoes and leave him with wet, cold socks. He hated when his socks got wet. He took great pride in his socks. The news report that morning said that a snow shower or two was possible with less than an inch of accumulation. That sounded pleasant to him. A little snow to cover up the dead, brown grass; maybe make it feel more like winter around the city. At least than all the Christmas lights wouldn't seem so out of place like they had been since winter rolled around. As far as he could remember this was the first time the snow was actually forecasted to stick. And it was only supposed to be less than an inch.

Apparently someone didn't know how to do their job.

He had gone to the lab to have a word with Bones. Only, on his way into the lab he got stopped by Dr. Goodman and the two of them ended up deep in conversation about a recent sport game that somehow led to them talking about politics. Booth really wasn't a fan of discussing politics because so many people got too caught up in the conversation and their beliefs. He preferred to just side step the whole thing but for some reason today he was dragged into it. They may not have seen eye to eye but he found out that they had more in common than he thought possible. They couldn't have talked for more than maybe twenty minutes. That wasn't all that long. Bidding the man goodbye he entered into the lab to find that nobody was there. He had to search through every room until he stumbled across Zack and Angela, both busy working with a skeleton in the 'bone room'. He didn't know if that was the proper name of the room or not but that's how he thought of it with all the boxed skeletons on the walls. Bone room seemed like an appropriate title.

"Have you guys seen Bones?" he asked.

Zack answered with looking at him. "She and Hodges went out about an hour ago."

"What for?"

"A museum recently came into the ownership of a body," Angela answered him. "They wanted her to have a look over the remains, run some tests and what-have-you to see if the remains were authentic. Why is it such a problem?"

"It's snowing."

Angela shrugged. "Your point? Snow was in the forecast."

"Look, do you know when they'll be back? I kind of wanted to ask her something and I don't have much time. There's this big meeting back that the office that I was told I had better be present for."

"Fifteen minutes," estimated Zack.

So Booth decided to wait those fifteen minutes in the bone room with them. He watched silently as they did whatever it was that they were doing. He could have asked them but knowing Zack, he would get some really long explanation with hundreds of scientific words and terms that he did not understand. It was better to just let them work in peace. When the fifteen minutes had come and gone he bid them a fond farewell, perhaps a bit too cheerfully, and headed back toward the entrance of the Jeffersonian hoping to intercept them at the door. There was a bounce in his step but it vanished the minute he looked out the glass doors. He was in the Jeffersonian an hour at the most. An hour. Nothing more.

There was already at least a foot of snow on the ground. He stood there in awe, wondering where the white fluffy stuff came from. More of it was swirling down from the sky in such a fury that there were whiteout conditions. He couldn't even see the street from where he was standing. "Holy shit…" was all that he could think to say.

Zack and Angela came up behind him, probably looking for their boss. "That's a lot of snow," remarked Zack. "Looks like a blizzard."

"That wasn't in the forecast," protested Angela, a hint of worry in her voice.

Without wasting another minute Booth hit speed dial on his cell phone. The connection was fuzzy, crackly, but he managed to hear Bones pick-up on the other end. "Where are you?" he demanded instantly. He prayed that they weren't driving in this weather. They could get into an accident. If anything happened to her…

"We're in the parking lot," came her reply. "There's so much snow that it's hard to make out where the building is."

"But you're otherwise okay?"

"Sure," she said. He heard Hodges make some smartass remark in the background about being stuck in a car with a dead body.

"Who is he talking to?" Dr. Goodman asked as he came upon the small group. After learning who was on the other end of the conversation he furrowed his brow in worry. "According to the news cast that I just saw they have no idea when this storm will end. It wasn't predicted and they're not really sure what's feeding it. They could be out in that car for a long time."

Angela shook her head. "Hodges can't stay out there."

Having paused in his conversation with Bones, Booth looked from Dr. Goodman to Angela, a plan already formulating in his mind. He told Bones to make sure that both she and Hodges were ready to go and that if they wanted the body it had better be good to go, too. Then he hung up without explaining to her what he was going to. Rushing back into the lab, followed closely by the squints, he started demanding things; rope, winter clothing, flares or a flashlight, extra rope. They separated to retrieve the items he had asked for not even knowing exactly what it was he planned to do. In those few moments alone he let out a deep breath, relaxing every muscle in his body. Being on edge would not help him in the long run. He needed to be cool, calm and collected. Zack was the first to return, his arms full of rope. There were three different lengths available. Booth opted for the longest one. It looked like his plan might just work. Dr. Goodman was the one who brought him a little metal case that contained a flare gun and some flares. He thanked the good doctor. And just as he was about to ask what was taking Angela so long the artist came back with some serious looking winter weather clothing. Booth wasted no time in donning the clothes provided. They were a little baggy but they would help keep him warm against the driving wind. Unfortunately there was nothing he could do for Hodges and Bones but he didn't plan to have them outside all that long.

The group headed for the back door where Booth tied one end of the longest rope around his waist. He handed the other end to Dr. Goodman. "Hold on to this, it'll help me find my way back in the snow." Without another word he took the other two ropes from Zack and plunged into the winter wonderland. It was as bad as he thought. The wind was harsh, driving the snow to create complete white out conditions. He should have called Bones and told her to put the cars lights on so that he could see it better but it was too late now, his phone wouldn't work in these conditions. Even if it did, he didn't think he'd be able to hear in the long run. Cursing himself he plowed on, the wind whipping at him and rustling his clothing.

Then by some miracle he saw the faintest glow of red taillights. She must have known what he planned to do. Of course she would; Bones had a way of knowing just about everything. He smiled, thanking her silently in his head. With renewed hope he made it to the car in a short burst of speed, knocking on the window, giving Bones a start. The next few minutes were crucial as both she and Hodges climbed out of the car and headed around back to retrieve the body. Booth made them each tie a rope around their waist. He then took the other ends and looped them through his own rope-belt. Now there was no way they could be separated from each other. The two scientists hoisted the body out of the car, he closed the trunk, and slowly they started back toward the Jeffersonian. Booth worried the entire way. They didn't have the protective clothing that he did; the cold temperature had to be taking one hell of a toll on their bodies. He kept glancing back over his shoulder to make sure that he didn't get too far ahead as he followed the rope, knowing that Dr. Goodman held the other end where it was safe and warm.

It seemed like an eternity before they were climbing the steps and standing before that back door. Much to Booth's relief Angela and Zack stood there waiting with warm blankets. The three adventurers trudged into the Jeffersonian, forcing the door closed behind them. Booth found that it was much quieter in the lab than it was outside in the unexpected blizzard. He figured that it had to be a Nor' Easter. That was the only explanation that he could come up with. The body ended up getting handed over to Dr. Goodman and Zack. Angela planted millions of kisses on Hodges face as the two of them embraced. Much to his surprise Bones turned to him and hugged him. He had been in the process of losing the heavy winter gear so it was an awkward hug at the best.

"Thank you, Booth," she said, warmth in her smile, a blanket draped over her shoulders.

He returned her smile. "You didn't actually expect me to leave you out there to freeze now did you?"

"You didn't have to risk your life…"

All of a sudden he frowned. "You know what; I want you to take Zack with you from now on. Can you do that?"

Everybody looked at with expressions of confusion.

"Well, this is the second time the two of you have been stuck in a car…once buried alive and this time you could have been frozen," he pointed out. "Maybe it would just be better to take Zack next time. Trust me, you'll be better off."