Disclaimer: I do not own Bones, but I am obsessed!

Author's Note: Another chapter. Enjoy.

Chapter 36: It Won't Be Long

July 27, 2005 7:20 PM Burke Cabin, Virginia

Agents approached a garage on foot. They had left their vehicles out of sight of the buildings, trying to gain an advantage by sneaking up to the property. Carefully prying open the door, wincing at the slight creak, the agents peered inside. Aside from a muddy van, the shed was empty. Agents Stuart and Davis approached the van and opened the back door. It was also empty. Turning on their flashlights they did a cursory inspection of the car. Davis came out with a scrap of blue cloth in her gloved hand.

"Dr. Brennan, does this look familiar at all?" Brennan didn't have to look too hard, she was a trained observer.

"Yes, yes. Lucy has pajamas with that fabric on them. They are her favorites."

Stuart chimed in, "Well that means we're close. Davis, let's head up the path. There should be a main house."

Booth spoke to the agents, but kept his eyes on Brennan the entire time. "Proceed with extreme caution, do NOT make a move until I get up there." The agents left, gathering the other back up as they began to walk up the hill.

"Bones, I need you to stay here. I can't be worried about you and Lucy."

"If you think that I am just going to stay here while they have my daughter."

"Please, Bones, please." His last word trailed off as he noticed something else in the garage. "Bones, does that look like new cement to you?"

"Concrete, Booth. Cement is an ingredient in concrete." He glared at her.

"You are really going to correct me. Now?"

"I'm sorry, it's what I do." He couldn't help but smile at her words.

"Well, what are the odds we find a fake leg and some teeth under there?"

Brennan didn't respond. She had noticed a dim light ahead in the woods. The shed no longer held any interest for her.

"There's the main house. She's got to be there. Booth, what if? What…" She was unable to provide an ending to her sentence.

"Don't even put that out there, Bones. We..." He paused, "We, members of the FBI that is, will go and get your daughter. Just stay here, please. I need to know that you are safe. I don't want anything to happen to you. You are my partner, I have to protect you."

It was the use of that strange, new word partner that made her acquiesce.

"Please, be careful," she practically cried. She was shocked by the depth of her emotion. She prided herself on being rational at all times, and her emotional side was being exposed, against her will.

Booth just nodded in her direction, but for once, he missed the concerned tone in her voice. He had other things on his mind. He turned to walk away.

"Wait, Booth." Her voice was calling to him, and this time it grabbed his attention. Booth turned and she was right in his face. "Good luck." She grabbed his hand and squeezed once. He squeezed back before releasing her hand.

"Thanks, Bones. I'll bring her back to you. I promise." With that he walked out of the shed and stalked towards the main cabin.

He met the agents at the top of the hill, right outside the cabin. Dusk had fallen and the added darkness provided extra cover.

"Stu, report."

"Two men inside, I see Lucy, she's tied up, but relatively unharmed, conscious anyway. I don't see Miller or Skylar. His car isn't here, I assume he has the other girl at another location. I don't know if there is another building on the property, it's possible. There are a lot of side paths here, and it's getting dark, after we secure the cabin we'll explore more. Oh, and there's the back door, got to make sure no one goes out that way. What's the call, boss?"

Booth analyzed the information and made his decision. "Count of three, we go in. Stu, you take Costello, Charlie, you've got Reardon. I go straight for Lucy. Mac, you've got our backs." Booth quickly assigned two agents to come in the back door and act as back up. Booth assigned one last agent, the most junior to make sure that Brennan stayed out of the cabin. The boy was likely going to be tried by fire, but Booth had to keep Brennan safe. He knew her well enough to know that she wasn't going to stay away for long.

Guns blazing, Booth took a deep breath and gave the signal. Six agents stormed into the cabin. The sudden appearance of the agents startled the men whose guard had become lax after being awake for over thirty hours. It was no contest really, and no shots were fired. All agents were relieved, even if it did seem anticlimactic. Fleetingly, Booth thought that they were relieved that they had been caught. They wanted it to be over, and they did not struggle. Charlie and two agents were soon leading the men out of the cabin and Booth was happy to see them go. Booth was only vaguely aware of the chaos around him as he had run to his partner's daughter.

"FBI guy, you're late!"

"Not a time for jokes, Squirt." But secretly Booth was thrilled. If she could joke about the ordeal, she must be all right.

"Booth, Skylar is under the bed." Booth had just finished untying her, and Lucy rubbed her arm absently.

"What?" He looked around the room as if trying to see where else the other girl could be. Mac and Stu also seemed not to believe that Skylar was in the cabin.

"I got her free and told her to hide. The dust ruffle hid her. You should probably get her out of here. She's really scared."

Booth, shocked, walked away from Lucy a few steps and peered under the side of the bed. A small frightened girl stared back at him.

"I'm one of the good guys, you're safe now. Here, give me your hand."

"No."

"I'm Booth. I met you at your Aunt Sharon's house. Remember?"

"No. Leave me alone."

Lucy's head appeared under the other side of the bed. "Skylar it's OK. He's the best, he's the good guy. It's time to be brave and take his hand." Skylar stayed under the bed not moving, until Lucy encouraged her again. The redhead nodded and trusting her friend, she took Booth's arm. Booth gently pulled her out from under the bed and handed the girl to Agent Davis. Mac whispered soothing sounds into the girl's ear as she backed towards the front door.

"We good here, boss?"

"Yeah, Stu. Go out with Mac. I'll be right behind you." Stu nodded and began to follow the female agent and her charge towards the front door. Booth and Lucy had smiled at each other from across the bed, letting their guard down for one moment. It was at that moment, when Booth's gut kicked in. For once, it was a second too late. Miller had barged in the back door, his gun pointed directly at Lucy.

Stu had stepped in front of Mac and Skylar, shielding them from danger,while simultaneously cocking his own gun. Booth's gun was also quickly drawn, but Miller was fast and desperate. He scooped up Lucy, using her as his own shield, preventing the sniper-trained agent from getting a clean shot. Lucy attempted to struggle until Booth told her forcefully to stop moving. He then confronted Miller.

"Miller, put her down and drop your weapon. No one gets hurt. We go by the book."

"No way. The only one walking out of here is me. It's over."

"Of course it's over. You have two agents with guns on you."

"Yes, but, I've still got the girl." Miller squeezed the girl tighter around her waist. A flash of movement grabbed Miller's attention. He noticed the redheaded girl for the first time and was distracted, but not enough to release his hostage.

"Where the hell did she come from? Where has she been this whole time? I've been in the woods for hours looking for her."

Lucy smiled triumphantly. "She was under the bed. I knew you were too dumb to look under there."

It was the wrong thing to say, and a furious Miller moved his gun a little closer to her head. Booth swallowed.

Lucy looked at her hero and made a decision. She was a Brennan, and she could help, she would help. Her arms were free, and silently she moved her hand into her pocket and pulled out her last precious shard of broken glass. Booth saw something glint as she moved her hand out of her pocket but was unsure what she was going to do at first. She then flashed the little mirror piece at Booth so that he could see the jagged edge. Miller's gaze had been so focused on Booth that he did not notice any of Lucy's movements. She nodded at Booth, who shook his head. But he couldn't stop her from her rash decision. He tensed his body ready for the one moment that he hoped he would get.

Lucy shouted, "Booth, now!" She then plunged the mirror shard right into Miller's arm. The glass cut into her palm as it bit into his arm. He yelped and released his grip on her. She fell to the floor.

Outside the cabin, Brennan had finally broken free from the junior agent's grip with a well aimed shin kick and started rushing towards the cabin. The shot that rang out, however, stopped her in her tracks.