A/N: Thanks for Timeloopy for doing a great job Beta-ing this chapter! Next one will be posted soon. Enjoy!

Chapter 10. New body

Angela sat near the ambulance holding Scarlett. The little girl looked so much like Brennan - it was unbelievable! There was no doubt of their mother-daughter relationship. Paramedics had already examined the girl and declared her healthy. Thus, she sat on Angela's knees playing with a doll.

Angela's feelings were torn. On the one hand, she had dreamed of seeing Brennan again for many years. On the other, she dreaded the moment Booth would come out of the forest. What if they were too late? What if Brennan couldn't be saved? Those thoughts made Angela cling to Scarlett. 'I shouldn't think about it. I shouldn't…' But the unwelcome fears didn't leave her mind. They only increased the tension and worry.

At that moment, she needed all the support she could get – needed to hear encouraging words. But there was nobody she knew nearby: only the paramedics and the FBI agent. Hodgins had gone into the house to gather evidence. She understood that. That way he had something to do. Something to divert his own thoughts from worry. Something to make himself useful. But she felt lonely anyway.

Trying to distract herself, Angela looked around. On her right, the paramedics discussed something. On her left, the agent studied the surroundings. From time to time somebody went out from the house only to go back inside later. Some other agents were setting the perimeter.

Her attention was caught by the noise of an engine. Two vans rounded the corner and stopped not far away from her. The moment they stopped armed men started to come out of them. Some of them had dogs. 'The search team!' thought Angela with some relief.

She watched as they formed a line, listened to their leader, split into groups, and entered the forest from different directions. One group hadn't yet reached the forest when Booth practically ran out of it with Brennan in his arms. Only moments later Cam followed him.

Not paying attention to anybody, Booth headed strait to the ambulance. Angela couldn't help staring at Brennan's limp form. Her best friend's hair, that was tangled and dirty with blood and soil, was much longer than she'd ever seen. Streaks of grey could also be seen, even through all the dirt. Brennan had a bruise on her left cheek, which contrasted with her overall pale face. Her lower lip was split and had blood running out of it down her chin. Her forehead was covered in blood, too, for no apparent reason.

Angela dared to look at the rest of the body and found herself on the verge of fainting. All the skin that was visible was covered in bruises and cuts. There were also rope marks on her wrists.

Only when Booth was near her, did Angela remember about Scarlett. Looking down she found little girl asleep to her immense relief.

Booth reluctantly gave Brennan to the paramedics and stood nearby clearly not knowing what to do next. He desperately wanted to find the bastard who hurt his Bones, but he couldn't make himself leave her, either. He was not able to take his eyes off of her, let alone leave her. He was scared that the moment he looked the other way, she would disappear. And he didn't believe he would be able to live through it again.

Fortunately, Cam took charge. She pushed him toward the ambulance with her words:

"Go with her, Booth. You too, Angela. We'll manage here without you."

Angela knew she had nothing to do there at all, so she just nodded and climbed into the vehicle. Booth still had doubts. Only when one of the medics said there was no time to waste, he finally made a decision and followed Angela.

For a few moments Cam looked at the leaving ambulance, silently praying for Brennan. Then she turned around and went to help the agents find Donald.

…

Ambulance

30 minutes later

Booth sat inside the ambulance still not taking his eyes off of Brennan's motionless form. The blood had already been wiped away from her face, but it only highlighted her paleness. The sickly woman wearing the oxygen mask didn't match Booth's fantasies about seeing her again. But this was better than the fantasy, because it was real.

"Booth," he jumped when Angela touched his elbow to attract his attention.

He tore his eyes away from Brennan and looked first at Angela, then at Scarlett.

"They look so alike."

Angela smiled.

"Yeah. Booth, I think we should call Sweets and tell him the news."

Booth nodded in agreement.

"I'll do it. You hold her."

Not waiting for his answer, Angela gave him Scarlett and pulled her cell out.

…

After examining the house, Hodgins decided to examine the place where Brennan had been found. There were nothing unusual there, just some blood on the ground and fibre particles on the tree. He was heading back to the house when one of the search team dogs found something on the ground several meters to his left.

When he came closer, Hodgins carefully lifted the layer of soil and froze. Two empty eye sockets looked at him from below.

…

"Something must have happened!"

"Calm down, Angela."

"I'm sure, something is wrong."

"Angela…"

"Booth! His cell is switched off. He is not in the Jeffersonian. Zack hasn't seen him in a few hours. And he is not in his office, either. Are you still thinking that everything is fine?"

"Angela, be quite! You'll wake Scarlett."

"Oh." This time she calmed down a little.

"Ok, now you should try calling the guard at the entrance of the Institution. He is sure to know if Sweets has left the building."

"Good thinking!"

And she didn't waste a second dialing the number.

…

Hodgins kneeled near the skeleton trying to gather as many samples as possible. All the photos of the new crime scene had already been taken. Cam was organizing the transportation of the remains to the Jeffersonian as soon as Hodgins would be done.

Before leaving, Cam cast the last glance on the skeleton. Judging by the state of decomposition, it had lain there for at least six years. She'd even say seven. She was not an expert in bones, as were Zack and Brennan, but she did knew that that bones belonged to a female. And she thought she even knew whose remains it were.

…

"Sweets ran out of the Jeffersonian nearly an hour ago with Alex. Where could they have gone?"

Angela was panicking. To find Brennan only to lose her son would be unbearable.

Booth was panicking, too. But he tried to stay calm and think logically. Brennan used to do it all the time, he remembered.

"Angela," started he slowly. "Does the Jeffersonian have a number open to public? I mean the number everyone can call."

Angela thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes! But I don't know it…"

"Call Zack. He can check it. Or just go to the call center and ask."

Fifteen minutes later they found out the reason Sweets had left so quickly. And it only added to their worry. Now they had to think about Daisy and her baby's wellbeing.

…

Washington Central Hospital

Half an hour later

Sweets sat in the uncomfortable plastic chair. A few hours earlier the only person he had to worry about was Alex. Now he had two more. The doctor told him that they had to do a C-section. And now they were fighting for the lives of both mother and son.

Sweets didn't know what to do. For the first time in his life he felt so useless and helpless. The thought that he could lose Daisy or his son made him sick.

He was too deep in his thoughts to notice anything around him. He didn't even remember to call Daisy's parents or their friends. He did neither. He forgot that he had brought Alex with him to the hospital, that he needed to watch the boy. Not even an explosion would tear his mind from his thoughts.

…

Ditrich's house

Cam followed one of the search teams. Her intuition told her Donald was somewhere nearby. However, they hadn't found him yet. She supposed he knew that forest rather well.

They walked to the northeast. Ditrich would have to go in this direction if he wanted to reach the nearest settlement. They were rather deep inside the forest when one of the dogs took a lead. They were only happy for a short period of time: the trace led back to the house.

…

Having finished gathering the samples, Hodgins helped to load the remains into the van and was getting in himself, when he remembered that he had left his jacket near the crime scene. Sighing heavily and cursing the heat that made him do so, he asked the driver to wait and went back to retrieve the piece of closing.

Only one gent was guarding the tape around the crime scene.

"Left the jacket here." Explained Hodgins to him, not knowing what for. The agent just shrugged.

Hodgins bent down to go under the tape. His jacket lay a few feet away. Just as he reached it, he heard a strange noise from behind. Knitting his eyebrows together, he turned around saying:

"Hey, what was th...?"

He was not able to finish the sentence.

…

Washington Central Hospital

Alex was restless. He had left the pencils back at the Jeffersonian, he had no book to read, and no toys. He had already counted the number of ceramic blocks on the floor, the number of chairs, even the number of people who had passed him. And now he was bored.

Sweets sat near him still holding his hand. But he wasn't paying attention to the boy, that was obvious.

Looking around to make sure nobody was watching, Alex carefully extracted his hand and started to walk down the corridor. Sweets didn't notice.

Only being out of the hearing range, Alex exhaled and looked around in awe. There were so many interesting things there!

It was not his intention to get lost. He just wanted to explore a little. There were a lot of fascinating things there: different machines, strange smells, people in white clothes. Some people wore pajamas; the others sat waiting just like Dr. Sweets. But he did get lost. He just could find the way back to where Sweets was.