(After 'The Change in the Game')

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Hodgins, Cam and a group of FBI techs were on the scene when Booth and Brennan arrived at the site with Sheriff White. The body was lying near a dead log, what was left of his right arm was stretched out towards the log as if he had been seeking refuge near it. There hadn't been any rain in the area for a few weeks, so it was easy to see the dried bloody trail left in the grass and dead leaves behind the body.

"Maybe he was trying to get to the log to hide in it. It's hollow." Booth stooped and looked inside the log. "I guess he didn't make it."

Brennan squatted next to the body and studied the parts of the flesh and bones that she could see. "Have pictures been taken of the body yet . . . or what's left of the body?"

One of the techs called out to Brennan. "Yes Dr. Brennan."

"I'd like to see the front of the body when you're ready." Brennan waited for Cam to respond. She saw that the coroner had lifted the damp ragged shirt from the torso and was studying the victim's back. Fascinated, she saw what looked like bruises a long his ribs where flesh still remained intact. They looked like old bruises and she was curious about how the victim got them. "It would seem that someone beat him. The bruises are greenish so they're not recent."

Lowering the hem of the shirt, Cam nodded her head. "Dr. Hodgins would you help us turn the body over." Creatures had eaten parts of the body and the clothes that remained on the flesh were ragged and torn. "Let's be careful, there's a lot of skin slippage and I don't want to damage the body any further if we can help it."

Once he'd placed an empty container on top of his samples bag, Hodgins moved over and helped Brennan and Cam move the body so it was lying face up. "Wow, I think we found cause of death."

The front of the body that had lain next to the ground had not been damaged by predators so it was possible to see the damage to the upper torso. Predators had damaged the back of the head, but anyone that cared to look could see his face had numerous lacerations and a torn scalp. Staring at the damage, Booth knew this had been an attack. "Some animal but what? A bear or a dog?

"No way." Hodgins was kneeling beside Brennan next to the body and stared intently at the damage done to Sander's face and chest. "This was a deer. I think he was gored in the chest."

"A deer?" Cam touched one of the broken ribs protruding from the chest. "You think Bambi did this?"

Amused, Hodgins flashed a smile at his supervisor and held up a tuft of light brown fur. "A male deer usually reaches six feet and weighs about 200 pounds. If they're upset, they can get very aggressive. When that happens, their hair bristles and they charge you with their head down. They can gore you with their antlers which is what I think happened here. The deer also stood up on his hind legs and beat the victim in the face and shoulders with his hooves. I'd say Sanders was in a lot of pain when he died. He might have crawled a little way, but with this damage he didn't last very long. I'm no expert, but to me, it looks like one of his lungs was punctured."

"I agree." Cam studied the gashes on the victim's head. "I'll need to do an autopsy, but I'm pretty sure, Hodgins is right. If this is Eric Sanders then he was a very unlucky man. He should have stayed in prison."

"Very unlucky indeed." Brennan was fascinated with what she was seeing. "Vehicle collisions with deer account for approximately 200 deaths a year in this country, but attacks on people are far fewer and are rarely fatal. Most deer would rather flee than have contact with a human."

Amazed that the man had been able to crawl at all, Booth made a few notes in his notepad. "So, this wasn't a murder, but an animal attack?" Flipping his notebook closed, Booth stared at the Sheriff for a moment. "Why did you call the FBI about this?"

"Because the man was an escaped Federal prisoner and I never assume anything." Patiently, Sheriff White pointed at the body. "You see, I once had a case where it looked like a woman had died from a dog attack. What really killed her was the bullet from the gun fired by her husband who was trying to get the dog to leave her alone. Looks can be deceiving. Never assume anything."

"Good point." Booth was impressed and he knew the Sheriff was right. He never tried to assume anything either. "I guess we'll have to wait for the autopsy just to make sure that Bambi killed the guy and not someone with a knife or a gun."

Brennan found that to be reasonable. "I'll have to have the bones cleaned after the autopsy is complete just to make sure there was no damage caused by a bullet or a knife or any other weapon."

Certain that the man had been killed by a deer, Hodgins stood up and went back to his samples case. "I think it was Bambi. Too many people think that just because deer are pretty and eat vegetation they're not capable of attacking and killing them or their dog. They're very wrong especially during rutting season or if a doe is protecting it's fawn. They can be mean as hell when they're mad."

Out of curiosity, Booth walked back along the path the victim had crawled for several yards then came back. "Only one set of human footprints, but a lot of hoof prints. I think Hodgins is probably right, but I'll wait for the autopsy." Turning to face the Sheriff, Booth nodded his head. "We'll take charge of the body, Sheriff. We still have to do a formal ID of the body to make sure this is Eric Sanders. Dr. Saroyan will email you and let you know if this is Sanders or not and cause of death."

"Appreciate it, Agent Booth." Touching the brim of his hat, the Sheriff turned and smiled at Cam. "Dr. Saroyan, I'll look forward to your email."

"It shouldn't take more than a day, Sheriff." Cam gave the man a dazzling smile. He was handsome and a little light flirting never hurt anything.

Charmed, Sheriff White wished he could ask Cam out on a date, but she lived too far away to make that convenient for either of them. "Nice meeting you Ma'am."

Once he was gone, Hodgins snickered. "I think he likes you, Cam."

Not sure what was going on, Brennan looked up from the body and looked around. "Have I missed anything?" She looked around, noticed the Sheriff was gone and wondered what had happened while her attention had been on the body.

"No Bones, you didn't miss anything." Checking his watch, Booth placed his notebook back in his pocket. "Well, killed by Bambi or not if this is Sanders, we can at least call off the man hunt for him. The warden had better find out how Sanders escaped. We don't need to tie up more man hours on this kind of shit."

Done with the remains for now, Brennan stood up. "We can go back. We need the body brought back to the Lab for further investigation."

"Got it." Booth noticed two techs waiting for the word from someone to remove the body. "As soon as Dr. Saroyan says you can, you can take the body to the Lab." His part done for now, Booth waited for Brennan to move over to where he was standing. "I'll take you back to the Lab. Maybe we can stop off some place for a late lunch."

"That sounds good, Booth. I am hungry."

Trying to take her case from her, Booth was thwarted by his partner.

"I'm not an invalid, Booth. I can carry my own case." Annoyed, Brennan started heading back to their truck, leaving Booth behind.

"I was trying to help." Rolling his eyes Booth shook his head and followed Brennan keeping an eye out for rogue deer. This is going to be along nine months. I can tell that right now.

A little surprised at the exchange, Cam muttered. "I wonder what that's all about."

"God knows." Hodgins was used to Booth and Brennan's bickering and didn't think too much of it. "It's wiser to stay out of their business."

"You got that right." Cam had learned that lesson a long time ago.

Oooooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.