A/N: So it's been a while, huh? I have no idea why I'm finishing this now, but it bugged me that I had an incomplete fic sitting on my profile page when I knew it was just because I was too lazy to type up the already-planned chapters. I'm aiming to finish this one as quickly as I can so, people on author alerts, I apologise about the flurry of alerts for this before I get back to working on You're Lovely to Me. It should be done in one or two weeks.

(Ridiculously brief) Recap: B&B are in hiding from the Dellato family who are out to kill Brennan. Last chapter, the Dellatos were contemplating ways to get the squints to tell them where B&B are and at the end of the chapter, Angela was calling the emergency cell phone number Brennan had given her (without telling Booth.)

Disclaimer (which will have to suffice for the remaining chapters): I don't own Bones.


Chapter 12 - Threats and Reassurances

"You gave Angela the cell number? Bones-"

"I had to!" she countered loudly, becoming defensive at the anger in his voice. "She was worried, Booth! Besides, someone should be able to get in contact with us in an emergency!"

"Bones, if the Dellatos get hold of that number-"

"They won't," she interrupted again, irritably. "Now let me speak to Angela."

The incessant ringing in the background did little to help Booth's argument or his worries, and he clenched his teeth in anger. "Fine. Speak to her."

Throwing her the phone a little harder than necessary, he walked across the lounge, punching the wall hard in frustration at the newly-exposed vulnerability of their hiding place. Too focused on her friend, Brennan ignored him, turning away and answering the phone in her usual manner, "Brennan."

Booth opened his mouth to protest at the danger of answering a phone call with her name while she was in hiding, but decided against it, dropping to the couch in defeat as Angela's anxious reply was heard through the silent cabin, "Bren, we've got a problem."

Temperance's anger instantly gave way to worry at the fear in her friend's voice, and she asked nervously, "What's happened? Is everyone okay? Did something happen to Zach or Hodgins?"

"Not yet," the artist replied, equally nervously. "We got an email, Bren. All three of us, apparently sent from ourselves to ourselves."

"They got into your accounts?" she inquired, seeing Booth sit up on the couch, listening intently. "What did the message say?"

"'Family or friends?'," Angela quoted over the phone line. "Then it said to reply to the message if we chose family." Brennan stayed silent and the artist continued, her panic audibly rising, "They're threatening our families, Brennan. What are we supposed to do?"

"Ange, I..." she trailed off helplessly, feeling her heart sink at the news and knowing there was no way she could risk the lives of her friends' families in place of her own.

Getting nothing but silence, Angela spoke again, her tone becoming more forceful through her fear, "Brennan, what do we do? We don't know where you are; what can we even tell them to stop them from-"

"Bones." Almost dropping the phone in surprise, Brennan turned to find Booth standing close behind her, his expression calm but the same worry she felt reflected in his eyes. "Let me speak to her."

She shook her head, not letting go of the cell. "No, this is my problem. I should go back to DC, make the Dellatos leave them alone..."

"And how are you planning on doing that?" he asked, more harshly than he'd intended. "By letting them kill you? Because as distractions go, Bones, I've heard better."

Letting out a shaky breath, she glared at him. "It's my choice, Booth. You can't make me stay here and there is no way I'm letting anything happen because of me."

"Nothing's going to happen," he said firmly, meeting her eyes in the hopes of reassuring her. "I'm not about to risk their lives any more than you are, but the Dellatos are bluffing. They won't hurt anyone; it's just empty threats."

She looked at him in disbelief. "Empty threats?! After what they did to you last time, how can you still think they're lying?"

His tone darkened as he moved closer, holding out his hand for the phone, "I'm not going argue about this with you now, Bones. Just give me the phone and let me speak to Angela."

Brennan folded her arms across her chest, keeping hold of the cell. "So you'll explain yourself to Angela but not to me?"

"Last time I checked, Angela was the one whose family was being threatened, so yeah, I'm going to speak to her instead of you," he said bluntly, his anger barely contained. "Give me the phone."

Taken aback by his tone, she slapped the phone into his outstretched palm before pushing past him and heading back out to the patio, body tense with anger. Booth opened his mouth to call after her, but changed his mind as he heard Angela's worried voice trickling from the phone. Sighing, he held it to his ear, and spoke with forced optimism, "Hey, Angela."


Passing the phone on Angela's desk over to Zach, Hodgins wandered across the artist's office to where his girlfriend was pacing anxiously, running her hands through her wavy hair. She looked up as he approached, asking quickly, "What did Booth say to you?"

The entomologist shrugged, "Pretty much confirmed what I already thought. Even if the Dellatos are serious about this threat, I've not exactly got any family for them to go after. Well, except for my cousin Ralph, but Booth was fairly certain that the Dellatos' contacts do not extend to a small missionary community in Madagascar." In spite of the situation, Angela smiled slightly at his words, and Hodgins placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as he asked, "What about you? What did Booth say?"

She forced a smile, trying to sound as casual as she could, "He didn't think I had anything to worry about. My Dad's the closest family I've got, and he said they wouldn't risk going anywhere near someone so high profile. Apparently I have nothing to worry about."

The mirthless laugh that followed her statement seemed to indicate the opposite and Hodgins moved closer, pulling her into a hug as he reassured her, "Hey, we're going to be fine, okay? Our families will be safe, the FBI will catch the bad guys, and Brennan and Booth will be back here before we even start to miss them." Meeting her eyes, he reiterated, "We're going to be fine."

She nodded slightly, not entirely convinced, and Hodgins leaned in to kiss her, trying to provide the best comfort he could manage. Before their lips met, however, their attention was distracted by the sound of the phone being replaced on the hook, and they quickly broke apart, moving over to an equally worried Zach.

Biting her lip, Angela asked with concern, "You okay, Zach? What did Booth say about your family?"

His face even paler than normal, Zach relayed the message quickly, "He said that he thinks they're bluffing and that they wouldn't go all the way to Michigan to go after my family." Putting his hands in the pockets of his labcoat to hide his anxiety, he continued, his voice stilted as he quoted verbatim, "He said to tell you that we shouldn't worry about it, that the FBI are on the case and that we should just carry on as best we can."

Angela just raised her eyebrows. "Carry on as best we can? What does he expected us to do, keep working while him and Brennan are hiding from the mob?"

"I believe "carry on" would imply that, yes," Zach answered without a hint of sarcasm.

The artist looked to Hodgins for support, only to find him nodding in agreement with Zach. She put her hands on her hips, making a noise of disapproval, and he explained, "This is the best thing we can do, Ange. If we look at the old evidence, we can concentrate on something other than our families, and try to help the FBI find out where the Dellatos are so that Booth and Brennan can come back sooner." He gave her a small smile when he saw her posture relax slightly and repeated, "It's the best we can do."

Relenting, she nodded and moved back over to her computer, eyeing a motionless Zach as she went and asking, "Are you sure you're okay, Sweetie? Because Booth knows what he's doing; he'd tell us if he thought your family was in danger."

"I know," Zach responded quickly and unconvincingly, before seemingly snapping out of his trance and stating, "I have work to do." He exited the office without any further explanation, leaving the concerned couple behind as they exchanged worried glances.

"He'll be okay..." Hodgins said uncertainly, his fingers playing soothingly and habitually with one of Angela's curls.

She nodded, turning back to the computer screen as she said, "It's Bren and Booth I'm worried about. From what I heard on the phone, I wouldn't be surprised if Bren knocks him out with a frying pan and comes back to deal with the Dellatos herself." The entomologist looked at her in surprise, and she waved away his stare, "Okay, so maybe she won't knock him out, but I can't see her letting this go easily."

"Well, that's what Booth's there for, right?" he asked uncertainly. "To stop her from doing anything stupid?"

Angela sighed, leaning back in her chair as she said doubtfully, "I'm beginning to wonder how stupid running away was in the first place."


Yeah, I know it's short, but there should hopefully be another one tomorrow. I'll try to keep the updates coming quickly, since I really want to finish this for my own peace of mind, but any reviews would be gratefully received and would definitely help the speed-writing process along. Thank you for reading.