Thanks for the reviews. It's nice to see some readers of my first story came back to read this one. Lots of BB fluff to come so keep reading.
CHAPTER TWO
PART ONE
The strangers hand hovers close to his gun but he doesn't reach for it, mainly because some guy has a gun aimed at him. As the man takes in the situation a smile crosses his face at the same time as a scowl plants itself firmly on Brennan's.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Brennan demands. She stands with her hands on her hips, glaring at the man Booth has his gun aimed at.
"Nice to see you too Tempe." The man smiles wider but Brennan's face remains hard as stone. "Uh, you can put the gun down, I'm not a threat." He turns his attention to Booth who glances over at Brennan, confused.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't let him shoot you?" she asks the man angrily. Booth guesses that this guy wronged Brennan in the past and she's still stewing about it.
"Come on Tempe, the past is the past." He smiles. Booth is anxious. He needs to know if this guy is still a threat.
"Bones?" Booth asks her. She gives him a reluctant nod and Booth lowers his gun but still looks wary.
"So, this your new guy?" the man asks Brennan.
"This is Special Agent Seely Booth, FBI." Brennan introduces. "Booth, this is Dr Daniel Harman." She waves her hand between the two as an introduction.
"What brings you up into the woods?" Booth asks interrogation style.
"The Starlights and an internet report claiming they're involved in human sacrifices." Daniel tells him as he looks over at the remains.
"Starlights?" Booth asks.
"The cult based a few miles from here." Daniel explains.
"Daniel is a psychologist. He studies cult behaviour. You could say he's an expert." Brennan explains to Booth.
"Why the gun?" Booth asks.
"Bears or crazy cult people." He shrugs. "It's licensed." He adds. Daniel takes a few steps towards Brennan. She remains in her spot, her arms crossed protectively but also defiantly across her chest.
"I'm surprised to see you babe." He lets slip a familiarity and Booth picks up on it, a feeling of jealousy bubbling.
"You don't get to call me that." She states. "Not any more."
"Sorry." Daniel smiles. "I thought you were working in Washington DC?" he asks.
"I am." She replies.
"But you're in New York State because…" he encourages more than a short answer.
"Special assignment." She replies.
"Those remains?" Daniel asks.
"What else?" Brennan retorts.
"You're mad at me."
"Of course I am."
"Don't be mad Tempe"
"Why not?"
Booth feels like he is watching a tennis match. Brennan and Daniel are snapping back at each other.
"Woah, guys. Okay so I'm getting the idea that you two know each other." Booth interrupts. "Quite well." He adds with a flash of his eyebrows. "But can we save the banter until later. There's work to be done." He reminds Brennan why they are there. She glares at Daniel then turns around and drops back to her knees to examine and retrieve the remains.
"So, you staying in town?" Daniel asks Booth.
"Yeah." Booth replies.
"Where?"
"It's none of your business." Brennan stands up again this time looking flustered and very angry. Booth wonders just what it was Daniel did to piss Brennan off so much.
"Awe Tempe, it's been two years. Haven't you gotten over it?" he asks in a jovial voice.
"Gotten over it!" Brennan shouts. "Gotten over it!" she repeats as she walks towards him. Booth is getting concerned about her reaction to this guy. What did he do?
Brennan stands right up to Daniel, her hands planted firmly on her hips. He stands a few inches taller than her. Brennan glares at him but Daniel remains unfazed.
"God Tempe, you look good." He reaches out to touch Brennan's shoulder but she slaps his hands away.
"Don't touch me." She says through gritted teeth. Booth decides to step in and cool the situation down. He places himself between Brennan and Daniel, facing Daniel.
"I think you need to back off." He says. "Take a walk, whatever." The two men's eyes meet and Daniel tries to read what's in Booth's head but his eyes don't give it away. You've hurt her, I already hate you. Daniel looks at Booth then peers around him to Brennan who is standing behind Booth fuming.
"Okay, I'll leave you two love birds alone." He smiles which annoys Booth and his facial expression lets Daniel know that. The man backs away.
"I'll see you around Tempe. I'm not going anywhere for a while." He calls as he walks back in the direction he came.
Booth remains where he is, watching Daniel go until he is out of sight. Then he turns to Brennan.
"What the hell was that all about?" he asks.
"None of your business." She snaps.
"Some guy comes along, gets you this mad and I have to break you apart. I think it is my business." Booth states. Instead of biting back like she normally would Brennan stays silent then turns her attention to the remains in the dirt. I really don't want to discuss this with him.
"Are you just going to ignore me?" Booth asks.
"I have work to do." She replies, her voice much softer. Booth sighs and realises she isn't going to share anything with him right now. She hears the heavy sigh he emits and feels guilty. Booth is a friend, or more, and he did have to step in. Maybe he deserves to know she wonders.
"Later." She adds after a moment of silence.
"Okay Bones." Booth replies. He goes back to watching her work which she does in near silence for the next hour until it's time for them to go back to the ranger station.
PART TWO
Brennan sits at a work station set up in the local doctors office/morgue. She has the bones laid out on the table, tagging and preparing them to be sent to her lab along with her initial findings. As she works, she hears her cell phone buzz.
"Hey Angela." She answers. Caller ID identified her friend as the caller.
"Hey sweetie, how's it going?" she asks. The sigh Angela hears prepares her for a long call. "Uh oh, what's he done now?" Angela asks.
"Who?"
"Booth."
"It's not Booth." Brennan states. There's a surprise. Angela isn't going to like what Brennan has to say. "I had a run in with someone."
"Someone?"
"Daniel." Brennan sighs. The silence on Angela's end is deafening.
"What the hell is he doing out there?" she demands when she recovers from the shock.
"There's a cult based out here in the woods, the Sheriff believes they're behind the murders. Daniel's researching them and Booth and I bumped into him when we were collecting the remains." Brennan can feel a headache coming on.
"Is he alive?" Angela asks
"Who?"
"Daniel."
"Of course." Brennan replies. "We just exchanged a few heated words."
"Is that all?"
"It could have been worse but Booth sent him away." Brennan explains.
"How sweet." Angela coos.
"Angela, this is not sweet. This is serious."
"I know but you're only going to be there for a few days. I'm sure you can avoid him."
"Not now that he knows I'm here." Brennan explains. "You know what he's like, all charming and everything." Booth reminds me of him sometimes. Like when he uses those puppy dog eyes and killer smile to get me to do what he wants.
"Honey, you have every right to be pissed at Daniel. The man was cheating on you for practically your whole relationship." Angela painfully reminds her.
"You don't need to remind me Ang." Brennan sighs. "Anyway, did you get the samples?" she asks.
"We've analysed them and I can upload the findings." Angela tells her. Brennan taps at the computer beside her and Angela sends the findings.
"I'll check this over." Brennan says.
"Tempe, try not to let Daniel get to you. You always deserved much better than him…like Booth." She adds.
"Angela." Brennan doesn't even want to think about that right now. Far too many nights have been spent thinking about him and what could have happened if she'd let it.
"Okay I'll back off for now but Tempe sweetie, I care about you. I want you to be happy and Booth makes you happy."
"Angela." Another sigh from Brennan.
"Fine, call me later." Angela signs off, worried about Brennan. Brennan hangs up contemplating Angela's words. Booth does make me happy. But he also makes me mad, frustrated, angry and nervous.
Brennan is shaken from her thoughts by the very man they are about.
"Hey, you want to go get some lunch?" he asks. He stands in the doorway, his hands stuffed into his jeans pockets.
"I'm not hungry." Brennan replies.
"Well looking at that would make anyone lose their appetite." Booth gestures to the decomposed remains. His stomach has strengthened somewhat having worked with Brennan for a while but he still gets squeamish at some sights.
"It's not that." She replies softly. Why do I keep opening up to him?
"Daniel Harman?" Booth ventures. Brennan nods. "You were close?" he probes.
"You could say that." Brennan replies.
"What changed?" Booth asks.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it was the women he was sleeping around with." Brennan shrugs.
"He cheated on you?" Booth asks. Why would anyone cheat on her? I'd never cheat on Bones.
"For eight months." She adds. God, why does this information keep flowing out my mouth? She wonders. She never shares this much with him. Booth walks over to her side and sits on the edge of the table, making sure he doesn't disturb the bones.
"You deserve better." He tells her. His hand slides across the table and covers hers. Her eyes lift up to meet his. "Someone who would treat you right." Like me he thinks. The intimacy freaks Brennan out and she abruptly stands up.
"You said something about lunch?" she asks as she draws her hand back. Booth once again backs off. He knows he's pushing her every time he makes a gesture but he knows if he does nothing she won't be the one to make a move. Still at the back of his mind he worries about pushing her too far.
Lunch for Brennan is a soggy salad, bread roll and diet soda from a local store. For Booth it's a burger, fries and soda. To eat, they sit at the bottom of the steps leading down to the community park with the sun shining down. Brennan finds herself watching Booth as he stuffs the fries into his mouth followed by bite after bite of burger.
"Seriously Booth, how do you eat food like that and stay in shape?" Brennan asks.
"I works out." He simply says. "A lot." He adds before stuffing the last of the burger in his mouth. Brennan gawks at him. She only has to look at a burger and she piles on the pounds. She glances at her watch.
"I should get those Bones tagged and sent to the lab." Brennan stands up.
"I should go too. I'm meeting with the Sheriff, he's got some missing person's lists to show me." Booth stretches and stands to join Brennan.
"Hey Booth." Brennan catches him as he turns to go to the Sheriff's office. "I want to go up to the Starlight complex." Brennan announces.
"Today?" Booth looks surprised.
"Why not?" Brennan asks. She doesn't plan on staying here any longer than necessary. "We might as well find out what's going on up there." She tells him.
"Okay, meet me at the Sheriff's office when you're done." Booth tells her. Brennan nods and heads off in the direction of the doctor's office/morgue.
PART THREE
In the sheriff's office, Booth presses the send button on the fax machine to send the missing persons' information to the Jeffersonian. It might help with the identification of the remains Brennan is sending.
"Dr Brennan and I want to up to the Starlight Complex this afternoon."
"I wouldn't advise it." Sheriff Underwood says.
"Sheriff?" Booth asks.
"They don't like visitors." Sheriff Underwood states. "Ain't too friendly."
"I'm sure we can handle it." Booth tells him. "If you can give me directions we can find our own way." He suggests. This seems to please the Sheriff. He happily writes down the directions and provides Booth with a map.
"Just mind and be back in town before dark. Like I told you before, those woods are not a good place to be after dark. Strange things happen."
"I'll keep that in mind Sheriff." Booth tucks the map and directions into his jacket pocket and heads to the door.
Brennan arrives at the sheriff's office as Booth exits.
"Hey Bones, you ready to go?" he asks as he jogs down the steps.
"I just sent the remains to Angela for further analysis. So far we're definitely looking at two individuals, one male and one female. Both are in their late teens to early twenties."
"There are several missing persons' reports for both men and women in that age range." Booth tells her. "They're mostly people from out of town. I faxed them to Angela." He adds. "You got a cause of death?" Booth asks.
"I found a lot of cut marks on the bones. There was no trauma to the skull." She states. It's hard to tell exact cause of death until we get the analysis back on the cut marks and find out what weapon was used but I'd hazard a guess at stabbing."
"Well I'm sure the squints will work it out." Booth smiles. "We should go before it gets any later. Sheriff says it's a half hour drive and at least an hour's walk to get to the Starlight complex." Booth pulls out the car keys and starts walking towards the rented SUV parked on the street.
Two hours later Booth and Brennan spot the Starlight Complex through some trees. It looks like a ramshackle hut with bad design and construction. But it's large and fenced off and obviously fulfils its purpose.
"I wonder if anyone is home." Booth asks.
"Let's go see." Brennan stalks ahead of him and Booth runs to catch up.
"Do you have a death wish?" he asks. "Sheriff says these people aren't too friendly. I don't think the blunt approach will work." Brennan stops and glares at him before carrying on walking.
"Okay, we'll do it your way Bones." Booth keeps pace with her and soon the near the entrance gate to the complex. It then becomes apparent that the money not spent on construction has been spent on security. There are several surveillance cameras on the property. One situated right above the gate.
Booth steps forward.
"Hello." He calls. He glances up at the camera which slowly moves and focuses down on him. "Hello, anyone home?" he asks. "We came to talk." He states. Brennan walks away from him and starts to look around the fence. Booth notices and turns to call her back.
"Bones, will you get back over here." He shouts in a whisper. She pays no attention to him and keeps walking around. "Bones." He calls again. She seems intrigued by something over at the fence. Giving up when she ignores him he turns back to the camera.
"So, does anyone feel like talking?" Booth asks. It appears that no one is but then the front door creaks open a little. Booth's head snaps to the left when he catches sight of a window being lifted.
"Uh Bones." He calls out a warning. She looks over at him and sees him reaching for his gun. She backs up from the fence, wary because Booth is on high alert. "I think we should perhaps…" Booth's warning is interrupted by gunshots. Brennan feels a sting on her arm as she dives to the ground. Booth shoots back at the complex as he runs over to Brennan.
He grabs Brennan's arm with his free hand and helps her to her feet as the shots keep ringing out. He drags her towards the safety and shelter of the trees. Finding a large wide oak tree Booth pulls Brennan behind it and flattens his back against the tree. He then wraps his arms around Brennan and pulls her close against him, her back pressing into his chest. Brennan shivers when she feels Booth's breath on her neck.
After a minute or so Booth realises the shots seem to have stopped now that they are further away from the complex.
"You okay?" Booth asks breathlessly. He lets Brennan go and she turns around to face him. Still feeling the sting, Brennan lifts her hand to her left arm and when she brings it back she sees the deep red colour of blood. "Oh God Bones." Booth gasps. "Let me see." He pulls her jacket off to expose her arm. Brennan grimaces as the fabric brushes over the wound. Booth takes a moment to gently examine it and he sighs with relief.
"It's just a graze." He tells her. "Not deep at all." Brennan looks down at her arm and the graze. I've had worse. She recalls El Salvador.
"Why the hell were they shooting at us?" she asks. She shifts her gaze between Booth and her arm.
"They obviously don't like visitors." Booth replies. "Or they have something to hide." He digs around in his jacket pockets. He finally pulls out what he's looking for; a handkerchief. "It's clean." He flashes a smile as he ties the handkerchief around the graze on Brennan's arm. She winces as he pulls it tight.
"Thanks." She sighs. As Booth secures the makeshift bandage, Brennan hears a noise. "Booth." She whispers as she pulls her jacket back. He looks up and listens.
"They're looking for us." He says. "Come on." He grabs her right hand and they start running into the woods.
Some time later as the sun is going down, Booth and Brennan appear to have lost the Starlights but they are not in a very good situation.
"Booth, it's getting really dark." Brennan reminds her partner.
"I know." He says as he turns in circles.
"Are we lost?" she asks. Booth stops and turns to face her, hands on waist.
"Of course we are not lost." He says.
"We're lost." Brennan stops walking and finds a log to sit down on. "Booth, its cold and we have no idea how to get back to the car." She tells him. Booth walks over to Brennan and stands looming above her. She tugs at her thin jacket to highlight her point.
"I'm sorry. I thought we would have made it back to the car by now." He apologises.
"It's fine Booth. It's not your fault." Brennan wraps her arms around her chest. He looks at her sitting on the log shivering and he feels guilty and concerned for her.
"Okay, so right now we have two choices." He says. "We keep walking and hope that we find the car."
"I vote number two." Brennan states.
"You don't even know what it is yet."
"I don't care."
"Fine. Then we stay here, build a fire and wait until light."
"Are you kidding?" Brennan asks.
"You agreed already."
"Fine." Brennan sulks. "I hope you know how to start a fire without a match." She tells him.
"I used to be in the military Bones, of course I know." He laughs of her suggestion. "Wait here." He tells her. She nods and as she bounces her legs to circulate warmth Booth goes off to collect some firewood. He returns armed with lots of dry wood and kindling. Brennan watches as he stacks the wood just right so a fire will burn well if he can light it.
He then constructs a device from a couple of pieces of wood which he can use to create a spark to light the fire.
Ten minutes later Booth is nursing a small flame. He feeds it kindling and a few minutes later the larger sticks have caught fire. Booth then adds some thicker logs which will burn for hours. He has a stack of wood at his side to keep the fire going all night.
"See, I told you I could do it." Booth sounds like a kid who has just proven something to his parents. Brennan moves away from the log and sits herself close to the fire. Booth leans back against the log and watches her intently as she warms her hands then sits back on her heels, still shivering.
"Still cold huh?" Booth asks. He pats the ground in front of him between his legs. Brennan pauses a moment as she contemplates the move. But her need to be warm overcomes all her issues and crawls over and sits down, leaning into him so her back rests on his chest. He opens out his jacket and pulls her in, closing the jacket around her. "Better?" he asks. Brennan nods and finds herself relaxing into Booth. The warmth from his body is flooding through her and making her sleepy. That is until she starts to analyse the situation. Booth feels her tense up and he knows exactly what's going through her mind. She wants to be here but she's afraid. Booth tightens his arms around her and leans his head down.
"It's okay Bones." He whispers. As he pulls back he plants a gentle kiss on her head. Brennan seems to relax again. He settles back to keep an eye on the fire as Brennan drifts into a peaceful sleep. The last thoughts she has are about Booth and how with his strong arms wrapped around her, she feels safe, protected and totally at ease.
Booth's eyelids are heavy and he can feel them falling closed. The fire is still burning though not as bright and it's very late. Brennan is asleep in his arms, her breathing regular and rhythmic. He doesn't want to fall asleep in case the Starlights are still looking for them but he is getting very tired. Just as his eyes drift closed he hears the distant snapping of twigs on the forest floor indicating someone or several someones are out in the woods. With senses on high alert he gently shakes Brennan to wake her.
"Hey Bones, wake up." He whispers. She shifts positions and drags her eyes open. "Wake up." He repeats.
"What's going on?" she asks.
"There's someone out there." He whispers. She sits forward and Booth reaches into his jacket and pulls out his gun. The two scramble to their feet and look around in the dark for whoever is out there. Brennan tugs on Booth's jacket sleeve and he turns to look at what she has seen. Through the dark of the woods there appear to be about a dozen people in light coloured robs with hoods carrying flame torches with long handles. Booth crouches down and starts to throw dirt on the fire to put it out.
"I don't think we want them to see us." He says. He then signals for him to come with her as they creep closer to the activity. The Starlights come to a stop about a hundred yards from Booth and Brennan's current position and form a circle. The two investigators creep closer to the action. From a vantage point behind some trees and rocks Brennan and Booth are witnesses to what can only be described as some kind of ritual.
The robed individuals plant the torches into the ground and lay out what looks like a sheet. They then begin to chant indecipherable words. One of the individuals steps into the centre of the circle and raises his arms. He turns around in a circle then as Brennan and Booth watch motionless and in silence he lowers his hood. When Brennan sees his face she grabs Booth's arm tightly.
"Daniel." She whispers in a shocked voice.
"I guess he's doing more than researching the Starlights." Booth whispers back.
