The Service in the Shadows - Prologue
Author's Note: I had a vague idea for a crossover fic using Bones and SMK, but then wondered if anyone had ever done one before, so I looked. I found that there was ONE (a one-shot), so I read it. I liked it so much that the story acted as a prompt and my vague idea started to take a more solid form. So this story can stand on it's own, but if you want to see a little more background (and read a cute story), please read "Familiar Territory" by turbomagnus. And then, if you're interested, you can also read their previous one-shot "Family Tradition" which is in the same universe and can also be considered backstory to this one (though turbomagnus makes James 18-21 years old in 2006, and I am going with the age he would be according to the series—about 32 in 2006).
I'm setting this in Bones Season 5, after "The Proof in the Pudding," (episode 12) which makes it late January, 2010. I figure that "Familiar Territory" was set in the spring of 2009 when Parker was 6.
Finally, this prologue is mostly SMK, but I promise the rest of the story will have a more even distribution of Bones. I haven't written anything in a long time, and never anything except one-shots, so please go a little easy on me while I remember what to do and how to do it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bones or Scarecrow and Mrs. King, I'm just borrowing them to keep them alive.
Doctor James King (Jim to his friends, and sometimes Jamie to his mom) glanced up at the platform as he finished documenting his data, saving the file and getting ready to leave for the day. Looks like they have a long night ahead of them, he noted. The key members of the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab staff had a fresh case, so fresh that Special Agent Booth was still standing on the platform, listening to Doctor Brennan give him the little bit of information she was prepared to present in this preliminary stage of the investigation.
"Male, Caucasian, approximately 35-45 years of age. No obvious cause of death at this time."
James heard the pronouncement with the stoicism that came with repetition, though when he started working at the Jeffersonian a year ago, it had been a shock to hear it. Not that he was unfamiliar with death, but given how soon after his abrupt career change it occurred, and the reasons for that change, it had unsettled him. It had felt personal at the time, and still felt that way to a certain extent. He had just learned to compartmentalize a little better now.
James continued to listen with half his attention as he put away his slides and covered the microscope at his station. "C'mon, Bones, can't you give me anything more than that?"
He didn't hear any more of the conversation as he headed to his locker to put away his lab coat and get his heavy winter coat. His decision to change careers had not necessarily been a difficult one, not when he took his family into account. They certainly appreciated the fact that working as an entomologist and forensic scientist at the Jeffersonian, he was less likely to be shot or injured (truth be told, that was a positive for him, too). There were other benefits, as well: regular hours and being able to come home every night after work, instead of the constant travel that his previous employment had required.
The change came at a good time, because two months after he'd gotten the job at the Jeffersonian, Clara had told him she was pregnant. He couldn't imagine being gone during her pregnancy or after Sofie was born.
He waved at Micah, who was just coming on shift as James was leaving. The security guard waved back and wished him a good evening, and James headed toward the parking structure.
As James climbed into the driver's seat of his car and turned the heater on full blast, he thought about his wife and daughter. The image of how he had left them this morning, Sofie snuggled into Clara's arms, made him smile. Taking out his cell phone, he sent off a quick text to Clara.
Headed home now. Remember we're having dinner at Mom and Lee's house tonight.
He set the phone down and turned the key in the ignition. As he pulled his seatbelt across his chest, he heard the chirp of an incoming text message.
Yep, I remember. I'll take a quick shower once you get here, then we can go.
He grinned and backed out of the parking space, flipping on the radio as he drove toward home and his family.
He quietly opened the front door. Sofie was a pretty good sleeper, but he didn't want to wake her if she was napping. He didn't hear any noise as he stepped across the threshold, so he carefully closed the door behind him and locked it.
As he came around the corner and into the kitchen, Clara spotted him and stopped what she was doing to give him a kiss. Her short brown hair was messy and she looked a bit frazzled, but she was beautiful to him.
"Hello, gorgeous," he softly greeted her.
Clara laughed tiredly. "Hello, handsome." She glanced down at the counter and sighed. "Can you do me a favor and finish packing up these cookies to bring to your parents' house? I still need to take my shower and I only got Sofie down for a quick nap about 15 minutes ago. I've been trying to clean up in here a little bit before we leave."
"Sure," James agreed. Clara gave him a peck on his cheek and rushed upstairs to get ready to go to her in-laws' house.
After packing the rest of the chocolate chip cookies into the container, he closed it up and glanced around at the kitchen. He could see that Clara had made a dent in the mess she had made making the cookies, but hadn't quite finished. He opened the dishwasher and started filling it.
:-::-:
The house was not the one he had grown up in. Or rather, not the one he had been a small child in. A few months after his mom had married Lee, they had moved to this one, not too far from where they had lived before. He and Philip had even been able to stay at the same schools.
The thought made him pause in the process of extracting Sofie's infant carrier from the car. It had been two years, and he still had a hard time thinking about Philip.
"Everything okay?" Clara asked, realizing James had stopped moving.
"Oh," he replied, "yeah, everything is fine. I was just thinking…" He swallowed heavily before saying the rest, "About Philip."
Clara's expression softened as she looked at her husband. She slung the diaper bag over her left shoulder, then placed her right hand on his shoulder. "I know you miss him. I do, too, and I only knew him for two years…"
A gurgle came from the back seat of the car, and they both peered in to look at their daughter. James chuckled and finished unhooking the carrier from the base, pulling it out of the vehicle. He tucked Sofie's blankets more snugly around her while Clara closed the car door, and the two adults walked quickly up the pathway to the front of the house.
His mom was waiting for them and swung the door open. "Hello, sweetheart. Hi, Clara." She closed the door and gave each of them a hug, then bent over the carrier. Seeing that Sofie was awake, her voice changed as she spoke to the five-week-old, "Hello, my sweet Sofie!"
Amanda Stetson ushered her son and his family further into the house. Once they had moved into the living room, James put down the carrier and started to unbuckle Sofie. Pulling her out of the seat, he carefully lifted her up and placed her against his shoulder. He nuzzled into her hair, kissing her forehead, then glanced up at his mom.
He laughed softly. "Yes, you can have her, Mom. Just give me a minute. She was asleep when I got home." He murmured loving words into Sofie's hair, shifting her so he could see her face. "Hello, little angel. Daddy missed you." He gently kissed her cheek, then handed her to Amanda.
"Lee should be home any minute," Amanda informed them without taking her eyes off the face of the infant she was cradling in her arms. She followed up the statement with a crooned "And your grandpa is going to be so happy to see you!"
Amanda had only been holding her granddaughter for a few minutes when they heard the sound of the door opening again.
"Where's my Sofia Amanda?"
They had finished dinner and broken open the cookie container when James saw Lee give Amanda a significant look. Her expression became more serious, and she nodded.
"Jim, let's go outside for a bit," suggested Lee.
Amanda got Clara's attention and asked her when her maternity leave was ending. James leaned down to kiss Clara, then dropped a soft kiss onto Sofie's cheek and grabbed his coat. He then followed Lee into the back yard, shoving his hands into his coat pockets.
James and Lee stood staring out into the darkness, silently listening to the sounds of all the nighttime creatures for several minutes. Then with a heavy sigh, Lee turned to James and said, "Jim…"
Concerned at the tone of his stepfather's voice, James took the time to really look at Lee. He noticed the slump of the older man's shoulders and the tightness of his lips. The laugh lines around his eyes that were usually mobile looked engraved into the skin of his face. He was starting to show his age. His hair had started to silver years ago, but James thought that it was looking even lighter now.
Lee took a deep breath, then let it out in an uncontrolled gust. He pushed his hair back from his forehead and ran his fingers through it, uncaring of the disorder he left it in. "I'm going to be speaking to FBI Deputy Director Cullen tomorrow to request the use of the Medico-Legal team. I wanted to give you a head's up." He reached across the short distance and placed his hands on both of James' shoulders. "Jim—" the break in Lee's voice alarmed James as nothing else had that evening. "We've had word that Philip's body has been found."
A/N: I know, how could I have more to say after that long AN at the beginning?
I don't really care if Cullen is still the Deputy Director in the series during season 5 or not. Turbomagnus used Cullen in "Familiar Territory" and I don't like any of the others that followed Cullen, so I'm using my artistic license to keep Cullen around for this one, too.