(The Man in the Cell)

This story is being told from Booth's point of view.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Howard Epps. I hate to even write his name down. I hate him so much. I'll always hate him.

There was a fire at the prison where Howards Epps was being kept for his trial. The warden let the FBI know that it looked like Epps had been killed in the fire. When Bones and I got there we found a body badly burned in Epps' cell. I was happy. The bastard should have died a long time ago and I thought it was only fair that he was dead now.

Bones took a look at the body in the cell and much to our horror, it wasn't Epps' body.

Bones had looked at the wrist she broke for him a few months ago and discovered that the arm showed signs of a new break; but, not an old one. I asked the Warden if all of his prisoners and guards were accounted for and he said if he counted the body of Epps then his count was ok. Bones looked at the body again and discovered a tattoo on his arm. The tattoo said DCFD which meant the man we were looking at was a firefighter and not Epps.

Somehow, while the fire was being attacked by firefighters, Epps killed a fireman, broke his wrist, swapped clothes and then just walked out of the prison. That psycho was a free man.

The Warden put the place on lock down and I put out a call to try to see if we could grab Epps before he got very far; but, I knew it was already too late. He was out of prison and no one was safe.

I called Caroline Epps and asked her to come to my office. She came as soon as she could. She told Bones and me that she had filed for divorce against Epps and a judge signed the papers a month ago. Caroline said that she didn't have any contact with Epps. I wanted to assign someone to watch over her for protection; but, she refused my help. I reminded her that women in Epps' life tend to die; but, she wasn't impressed. She told us that she had changed jobs, apartments and she had a boyfriend. She felt she was safe enough. Bones reminded her that if we could find her then so could Epps. She was more interested in protecting her reputation with her new boyfriend. She really wasn't worried. I was. Fat lot of good it did. She was still the same bland person she always was.

Nothing I said seemed to make an impression. That lunatic was on the loose and she wasn't afraid.

Bones wasn't happy. She wanted me to make her take protection; but, I couldn't do it. The best I could do was have a police cruiser drive by her house every couple of hours. If someone doesn't want protection then there isn't anything I can do about that. I was more worried about Bones. Bones is everything Epps hates. She's smart, strong and confident not to mention beautiful. She can take care of herself and she really had Epps figured out. Epps can't stand the thought of a woman being his superior; so, I was afraid that Epps would go after Bones. I had no intention of letting Bones out of my sight while Epps was on the loose.

When we got over to the Lab, I went to look for Cam. I found her in her Autopsy Room. I told her that she needed to double security at the Lab. I wanted her to understand that everyone at the Lab was in danger. Not just Bones. I was worried that Cam was in danger too. I would hate for anything to happen to Cam. She's one of my oldest and closest friends. I love Cam and I didn't want Epps to take her away from me.

After I was done talking to Cam, I walked over to Bones' office. I walked in to find her holding a big ass gun. I asked her where she bought it and she told me the mall. It left me chilled. I'd been trying to keep her from getting a gun ever since I started working with her and here she just goes out and buys the biggest one she could find. What if that squint Zach bought one or Hodgins? I know Cullen is going to have a cow when he finds out that Bones has a gun. He's going to find a way to blame me, too.

That nut job, Epps called Bones. How he knew what her phone number was I'll never know. Bones talked to him while I had his number traced. Epps wanted to tell Bones that whatever he did would be Bones' fault. Talk about screwed up logic. He did leave a hint for us. He told Bones to use her head. My guys traced the call and we went out to where he called from. I sent my guys looking for him; but, we really knew he was gone and out of our reach. He did leave another clue at the pay phone. It was a piece of bone and some bone dust.

Bones and her squints looked it over. It was human. While they were researching the bit of bone and bone dust, Angela received a package delivered by bike messenger. There was a human heart in the box along with a newspaper clipping about the Jeffersonian and the people who work there. Angela was scared out of her mind. I didn't blame her. Epps was playing games with us.

Epps not only frightened Angela, it made her angry. Angry enough to help Hodgins figure out what was in the bone dust Epps had left us earlier. Angela figured out it was spices that you would find in an Indian restaurant. I knew from Caroline's last known address that she had lived above an Indian Restaurant. This was one of Epps' games. I was afraid of where he was leading us and what we would find.

Bones worries me about that gun of hers. She feels pretty bold carrying the damn thing. I threatened to have her license pulled; but, it was a wash. She threatened to make Zach my expert instead of her. She'd do it too. I just hope she doesn't get herself killed.

Bones and I went over to Caroline Epps' apartment. We looked around and found her head in the freezer part of the fridge. We couldn't find her body though. That psycho cut off his former wife's head.

We took the head back to the Lab so that Cam and Bones could look it over. Cam found some white powder in Caroline's hair. I thought we should look in the head to see if there was anything in it; but, Cam and Bones wanted to go slow. They have protocols to follow and didn't want me to hurry them. They could tell one thing about the head right away. Epps cut off his wife's head while she was still alive. The thought of the terror she felt while she was dying is pretty terrible to me.

This whole thing made Bones angry. She talked me into bringing Epps' mother in for questioning. She had a good idea. Epps was obsessed with his mother.

Mrs. Epps is obese. You know when Bones saw her, she couldn't resist lecturing Mrs. Epps about her weight. I had asked Marian Epps if she knew where Howard was; but, she didn't even know he had escaped from prison. She was more worried about everyone blaming her for what her son was. The woman is a nut and she was a pretty horrible mother. If her son was fragile to begin with, then she probably drove him over the edge.

I found a reason to hold her in jail for awhile and I used it. I needed to have her in jail so I could use that as a trump card against Howard Epps. Bones was feeling guilty that Epps was a danger to her co-workers and friends because Epps hated her. I tried to get her to understand that it wasn't her fault; but, I 'm not sure she was listening to me.

Cam called me and told me that she found a token for a kids ride from Hillside Park inserted in Caroline's ear. That's where my son plays every day. Don't think I didn't feel like panicking because I did. I drove over to the park as fast I could, sirens blaring. When I got there, I tracked down Parker's nanny, Rose and asked her where Parker was. He was supposed to be on the merry go round; but, he wasn't. Bones, Rose and I called for him and I was pretty much freaking out. All I could think of was that psycho had my kid.

Bones saw Parker at an ice cream vendor. I ran over there as fast as I could. I grabbed him up and held him as tightly as I could. I was so sure that Epps had kidnapped him. That psycho had bought my son an ice cream cone. The first thing I thought of was poison and knocked it out of Parker's hand. I'm afraid I upset Parker. I asked him what the man looked like and if he had said anything to him. Parker said the man had told him to use his napkin. I picked it up and looked at it. The napkin had writing on it, "My name is Parker. Ask me how I can solve this case." I flipped out a little bit and told Parker to never talk to strangers. He hadn't seen that he had done anything wrong. I scared Parker. I didn't mean to; but, I did. I had the agents that had been assigned to follow Bones take Parker and Rose home. I tried to apologize to Parker; but, he was too upset.

I was angry and upset too. I shouldn't have done it. It was my fault what happened next. I called Cam and told her about Epps going after Parker. I was pretty upset and I upset Cam. I wanted her to find out what was in Caroline's head and I wanted her to stop wasting time. God help me, she listened to me and skipped the protocols. She shouldn't have done it; but, she did it for me. It's my fault. She cut into Caroline's head and when she did, she hit something and some powder blew out of the head. Cam breathed it in whatever it was and it caused her to collapse. It was a poison of some kind.

It was bad. The doctor pretty much told me that Cam was dying. If we didn't find out what the stuff was that poisoned her, then she would die and it would be my fault. I called her family to let them know that Cam was in the hospital. I really hated to call them. Her parents really love her and if anything happened to her, it would be devastating to them. Her parents are the nicest people you would ever want to meet.

I asked Hodgins to find out what the poison was and do it as fast as he could.

Bones tried to be there for me. She knows about Cam and me and she knows that Cam and I have been friends a real long time. She didn't know what to say; but, it didn't matter. She tried and that's what counts in my book. She's my best friend and she was there for me.

I stayed with Cam. After awhile she woke up; but, I was afraid. Her breathing was terrible. It's like she couldn't catch her breath. Cam was more worried about Zach than herself. That's Cam all the way. I let her know that Zach was ok. She was relieved.

I tried to apologize to her; but, she wouldn't let me. She said it was Epps fault; but, we both knew it was my fault for putting pressure on her. I wanted to cry; but, I held it together. I let her know that her parents were coming to see her. She wasn't too happy about that. Her parents can be very overwhelming, especially when one of their kids is in trouble.

Bones came over to the hospital to check on Cam and to talk to me. She told me that the psycho had called to give her another clue. "The body knows what the head can't say". We both knew that he was talking about Caroline's body. I did get some good news. Bones told Epps that we had his mother in custody and it upset him. I was glad to hear that.

I decided that I couldn't just sit and watch Cam die. I needed to help catch Epps and find out what the poison was that was killing her. God, she looked so vulnerable lying in that hospital bed. I wanted to stay; but, I just had to help.

I went over to the Lab to talk to Hodgins and Zach. They were still trying to pin down the poison. I got them to tell me that Caroline had drywall in her hair and some chemical used in dry cleaning, in her ear. I was going to look through the evidence and see if I could pin point where to look for those substances. I thought I might find Caroline's body that way.

I started to get aggravated with Zach and Hodgins. I needed to find Caroline's body and they kept stopping me from leaving Hodgins' office. They drove me up the nut. I got fed up and threatened to shoot them if they didn't let me go. Sometimes it's the only way I can make them take me seriously. Zach had an idea and I told him to go with it. I had just left them when they called me back, again. I was pissed and put my hand near my gun to let them see that I was tired of them messing with me; but, Zach actually had good news. He thought he knew where Caroline's body was. I made him come with me. I went by Bones' office and we headed out to some leather goods store just outside of Arlington. I called for backup to meet us there.

Caroline's body was there. It was lying on a table. I walked around the table and didn't see any obvious booby traps; but, I had my guys jam all frequencies just in case Epps tried to blow us up remotely. Zach is such a dumb ass. He wouldn't wait for me to examine Caroline's body to see if we could touch it. He just walked across the room and picked up the bag of power sitting on Caroline's body. I heard a click and I knew that Zach had done something really stupid. I had him put his hand on Caroline's stomach and press down. Bones came closer and Zach gave her the bag. I had everyone clear out and I moved a table near Zach and tilted the table on its side. I had to push Bones out of the room. She can be too brave.

I told Zach not to be scared and to jump back as high as he could on the count of three. He did it and I pulled him behind that table and slammed him to the floor just as the bomb went off. We were ok; but, we did get scratched up pretty good. Caroline's body was blown up and I was glad that I wasn't the one who would have to collect her bits.

We went back to the Jeffersonian where a doctor checked out Zach and me. He was ok; but, he kept complaining that I hurt him when I slammed him to the floor. He'd have been hurt worse if the bomb had gone off and I hadn't got him clear; but, he and Bones didn't see it that way. I save the guys life and they want to complain that I was too rough on Zach. I saved the guy. I don't know what it takes to impress them. Apparently that didn't. I was a hero and they didn't think so. That is so annoying.

We let the press think I was seriously hurt and Zach was dead. We wanted Epps to think his bomb did some damage. It's creepy to hear someone on TV say that you're in the hospital when you're not. It's like someone walking on your grave. It gave me the chills.

Hodgins ran some tests on the powder from the bag and figured out what was killing Cam. He called the hospital and let them know. I went over there to check on Cam and I told Bones to go home. That idiot Zach wanted to go home too. He forgot that he was dead to the world at that time. I assured Bones that it would be safe to go home because her apartment was under surveillance.

Hodgins' cure worked and Cam came out of it. The doctors said she was going to have to stay in the hospital for awhile; but she was going to be ok. Thank God. I'd been praying for her ever since she was poisoned. Cam told me something that reminded me of something that Bones had mentioned right after Epps had escaped from prison. Bones had told me that the apartment next to hers was being renovated; but, at the time it didn't really click with me. Cam mentioned the drywall dust in Caroline's hair and it just fell into place. I knew where Epps was.

I hurried over to Bones' apartment as fast as I could. When I got there, I found the lead agent in charge of surveillance down stairs and brought him up with me. I had him and the agent outside of Bones' door go next door to the apartment being renovated. If Epps was there, I wanted them to find him while I checked on Bones. I opened Bones' door and after drawing my gun, walked in. Epps was there. Bones and her big gun were also there. Epps was trapped and didn't have anywhere to go. Bones had figured out that Epps would come for her and she had been ready. She actually wanted to shoot him. I couldn't blame her. I wanted to shoot him too; but, we couldn't.

Epps wanted to know how we knew where he was. Bones told him plaster dust in the poison and I told him renovations in the apartment next door. I think he was shocked that we would figure that out. He wasn't as smart as he thought he was. His damn games finally caught up with him.

Epps said he wasn't going back to jail. He had a crowbar in his hand that I guess he had planned to use on Bones. He threw it at me and then turned and ran for the balcony.

He knew he couldn't use it to escape. He just threw himself over the balcony. I grabbed him and tried to get him to help himself; but, he wouldn't. Bones couldn't reach him so the only thing keeping Epps alive was me. I tried to hold onto him; but, I knew I couldn't do it forever. He kept talking to me. He had one more game to play. He wanted me to drop him so I would be a killer. I refused to do that. I did refuse; but, I couldn't hold him forever. I wanted to save him. I think I wanted to save him. I'm sure I did. I couldn't though. I let his hand go or he just slipped out of my hand, I don't know which. He was dead. The minute I let go, he fell and died. I'm not a killer, I tried to save him. I'm sure I did.

I had desk duty for a week. It's policy. I hate that policy. You just sit at your desk trying to look busy; but, all you do is think. I think too much when I'm not doing anything. I sure as hell don't want to think about Epps.

I talked to Cam and told her we needed to break up again. It's too dangerous to date when we work together. I made her do something she wouldn't normally do and it almost got her killed. She did it for me because we were seeing each other. She knows that and I know that. We crossed a line in our lives that we shouldn't have. We aren't kids anymore. We have dangerous jobs. We can't love someone when it can put them at risk. I need Cam as my friend, just like she always has been; but, we can't be more. It's just too dangerous.

I talked to Bones about this. I told her that people in high risk situations shouldn't cross the line and have personal relationships. She agrees with me too. She understands how dangerous it is for me and Cam to continue to see each other. I'm glad she understood.

Pops didn't. He didn't want me to date Cam; but, he said I'm breaking up with her for the wrong reasons. He just doesn't understand.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

Dad did what he had to do. Aunt Cam knew what she had to do; she just didn't do it. I don't blame Dad and I don't see why he did. He takes a lot on himself sometimes. He tends to blame himself when he shouldn't. It drives Mom up the wall sometimes. Me too for that matter.