"Cullen..." He turned to see a shaken Temperance Brennan, a cup of coffee gently shaking in her hands. "I'm so sorry..."
"Agent Curtis knew what she was doing when she agreed to this, Brennan. She was doing her job, and she died with dignity, alright? No one blames you, you are not at fault for this, got it?" She nodded, and he smiled at her, "Now, go home, get some rest... Tell Booth to call me, okay?"
"Yes, Sir..."
He rubbed his face, sleeplessness plaguing his features. He desperately wanted to go home to his wife, as he usually yearned to do after hard cases. But there was a mountain of paperwork to be completed, and a massive amount of phone calls to make. The first of which being to Amy Curtis' husband and young children. This was the part of the job he hated the most...
FLASHBACK:
Booth opened the door to the apartment slowly, his hand grasping for the light switch in the darkness. He flicked the switch a few times, no lights coming on. Instantly, he withdrew his weapon. "Hello? This is Special Agent Seeley Booth, make yourself known..." He stepped cautiously into the living room, moonlight flitering poorly through the nearly closed blinds. He heard a creak in the floor to his right, swung around to point his weapon in the direction of the approaching feet, but was caught off guard by the heavy metal pipe, crashing into his head.
He fell to the ground, making himself still. "Nice to meet you, Agent Booth. I'm Jake Winters..." He could practically hear his sick mind churning. "Where's Tempe?" A foot kicked him in the ribs, and Seeley swallowed the gasp that nearly escaped. The only way this could work in his favor was to turn the tables on his attacker. Let him think he was down for the count, and then strike when he least expected it. He could picture Jake attacking a young Tempe under the guise of love, and it made him sick. It made him angry... "I didn't think I'd hit you hard enough to knock you out, Booth... I guess nine years locked up for a crime I didn't commit gave me more pent up rage than I expected..."
Booth felt him take a step back and moved swiftly, kicking the back of his knees hard as he sat up and placed his gun to Jake's temple, "Don't flatter yourself, Jake. You're too weak to knock me out that quickly... Now, roll the pipe away from you..."
"And if I don't?"
Booth thumbed the hammer back, the click oddly loud in the quiet room, "Then I shoot you."
"I doubt Tempe would appreciate you killing her love..."
"I doubt Tempe would appreciate you refering to her as her love. See, she doesn't much appreciate the fact that you beat her, nor the fact that you're even alive right now, let alone out of prison. So, I think it's safe to say she wouldn't mind me killing you. She would, however, be disappointed that she herself didn't get the chance to pull the trigger. Now, what you're going to do is slowly roll onto your stomach and place your hands behind your back..." Booth moved back slightly, and Jake lifted the pipe to meet the agent's already wounded arm. Booth screamed out, hearing him jump to his feet and exit the apartment. "Cullen, it's me. Jake was here, he's leaving the apartment now. Do you have men outside? Have them follow him..."
Booth grabbed his arm, trying to assess the damage in the dark. He approached the slightly ajar front door, a sliver of light filtering through from the hall. He rolled back his sleeve to look at his reddening arm, knowing immediately there would be a massive, ugly bruise by morning. Without warning, the door flew open, and Jake Winters brought the pipe to Booth's forehead, knocking him out for good.
Booth's eyes fluttered open painfully, and he recognized his surroundings as the warehouses that Tempe had been taken to by Kenton. "Ahh, good to see you're awake, Agent Booth. How are you feeling?"
"Go to hell..."
The scarred man smiled at him, "I'm sure I'll see you there before too long. Now, I've left a note for Tempe telling her where we are now. Did I mention it's in your blood? I thought that was a nice touch..."
"You're sick," Booth muttered, his arms tied painfully tight behing the back of a chair. He tried to move them, but became aware quickly that it was not only futile, but sent throbbing pain throughout his body. "How did you get me out of the apartment? You must weigh, what, 135, 150 max? It's impossible that you lifted me..."
"You're right. I didn't lift you, I dragged you down the stairs and threw you into my back seat. Then when we got here, I dragged you from the backseat into the warehouse. I should tell you, you have quite a few nasty cuts and scrapes, not to mention painful looking bruises. It won't matter soon, though..."
"And why's that?"
"Because as soon as Tempe gets here, I'm shooting you between the eyes."
"Why wait until she gets here? Come on, do it now."
"You know why I'm going to wait until she gets here. That way, she can see the fear in your eyes as you take your last breath. If I wait, she gets to see the back of your head detach from your skull, and your brains get plastered to the wall behind you."
"You'll be waiting forever..."
"Oh, why's that? You don't think she'll come to try and save you?"
"I know she won't. I had her arrested so that she'd be safe from your crazy ass." He smiled as Jake's face fell, "Looks like I won this round, eh?"
Jake pulled the hammer back on Booth's gun, placing it against his forehead. "Looks like I win the game..." A noise behind them startled Jake, who spun to find two junkies. He pointed the gun at them and shot them both.
"Why did you do that?"
He smiled, "No witnesses, Booth. Although, snipers don't care if there are witnesses, because they ensure they can't be seen, correct? I'm sure you're all too familiar with taking people out..."
"I did what I had to. I was in a war..."
"I'm in a war now. I'm fighting for Tempe, and as it stands, it looks like I win."
"Jake?" The voice sounded so much like Tempe, that Booth felt his heart drop. They had let her go, and she found him. She was far away, but she was there--it was really her.
"Tempe... Glad you could make it..." He turned and took a few steps toward her, stopping when he was just a foot in front of her. He reached for her with his free hand, touching the side of her face.
"NO!" Booth screamed, but it was too late. Jake had already shot her in the side of her head. He watched in horror as she fell away from his grasp. "Why would you do that? BONES!!"
"Bones, huh? Clever. She got what she deserved... just like you're about to..."
"FREEZE! DROP YOUR WEAPON!" Jake pulled back the hammer again, spun and shot blindly into the massive swarm of agents as he approached them. Knowing what was sure to happen next, Booth gathered all the strength he had and threw his body weight to the side, landing hard against the concrete as the shots began. He watched as Jakes shooting arm was shot, and fought a smile. Jake reached for what Booth assumed to be his back up piece, before another agent shot him in the leg, bringing the coward down. A crowd swarmed forward, a few apprehending Jake and a few approaching him.
Tears clouded his eyes as Kidridge approached him, untying his arms and feet. "She's dead isn't she? Tempe..."
"Tempe's still in custody, Booth..."
"Then..." He looked blankly at the woman's body, tears still in his eyes.
"That's Curtis... she looks a bit like Dr. Brennan, and she volunteered to come impersonate her, to try and get Jake to let you go and give up peacefully..."
"Curtis? No..." Booth shook his head, thinking to the friendly agent who's office was just across the hall from his. "She just got back from maternity leave six months ago... how did this happen?"
"Dr. Brennan wanted to come herself, but Curtis insisted she take her place, knowing how dangerous this would be for the doctor..." Kidridge brought Seeley's arm around his shoulders, helping him to exit the building. "Let's get you to the hospital..."
END FLASHBACK!
Tempe sat in the hospital's waiting room, Angela and Jack pacing in front of her. "I can't believe this is why Booth made us stay in New York. We should've been here..."
"Ang, being here would've only put the three of you in danger. He was protecting you..." Tempe breathed in sharply, "And you're sure Parker hasn't heard any of this?"
"I'm sure, Bren. He's clueless..." Jack sat next to her, "But I think we should tell him. He deserves to know..."
"Know that his future step mom keeps endangering his father's life? Yeah, because that's super comforting, Jack..."
"No, he needs to know that his father would do anything to protect the people he loves. He deserves to know his father's a hero..."
"He is, isn't he?"
"No doubt about it..."
"Dr. Brennan? Agent Booth is asking for you..." The nurse smiled politely at the others as she led the friend down a corridor.
"Hey there..." Tempe smiled at him, looking at his bare chest and slung arm. "Wow... this is eerily familiar..."
He chuckled, wincing at the movement, "Yeah, I know. Want to hand me that pudding?"
She smiled, and he shifted himself over in the bed, opening up a space next to him. "Is that for me?"
"There's no one else I want to share my bed with, Bones..."
"What if I hurt you?"
He knew she didn't mean it the way it sounded. She didn't mean 'What if' she nudged his wounds and made him uncomfortable. She meant 'what if' this keeps happening. She was giving him an out. "It isn't gonna happen, baby. Come on..."
"Funny you should mention babies..." she whispered, laying her head on his bruised shoulder.