Disclaimer: See chapter one
A/N Well this is it, my last chapter. I hope you like it. Oh and here's a heads up, take a look at the time each subheading it will help you to understand what's going on better. Thank you, thank you, thank you all so very, very much for all your wonderful reviews.
EDITED: 7/2019
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Chapter Sixteen
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11:07 P.M. Thursday
FBI headquarters
Brad Penning sat in the bullpen looking over the video footage of the Jeremy Kuzach interview it was a dead end. No matter how you looked at it, no matter how much they all wanted this man to be the serial kidnapper and murderer that just wasn't the case. Penning turned off the T.V. then stood up and stretched. Penning decided to call it a night and go home he grabbed his suit coat off the back of his chair and headed out.
He was just about to his car when his cell phone rang, "Penning."
"Hello, this John Libby from the lab. I have the test results you were waiting for." Not one for mincing words John got straight to the point, "Jeremy Kuzach's DNA does not match."
Penning sighed, "Yeah I figured as much. Well, I guess it's back to square one."
"Well maybe not. DNA shows that your kidnapper is related to Jeremy Kuzach."
"You mean like a brother?"
"No. Not that closely related more like an uncle or first a cousin."
"Ok. Is that everything?"
"Yep, that's it."
"Thanks, John," Penning said then hung up his phone. Penning then called the New York FBI office so that they could see if Arthur Kuzach really was there. He also called Wilton and related to her everything Libby had told him so she could follow up on the information. Judy was right on top of it, even before Penning had gotten off the phone she was already making sure that Prat and Wright were well guarded.
He got into his car then tried to call Booth, but only got his voice mail. He put his car into gear and drove out of the FBI parking garage. As he pulled up to the exit he decided to go to the hospital and tell Booth in person what the lab tech had just told him. He also wanted to get extra security on Dr. Brennan.
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11:09 P.M. Thursday
Washington Memorial Hospital: Cafeteria
Booth sat with file after file laid out on the table in front. All he wanted to do was to find the man that had put his partner in this hospital and make him pay. Booth knew in his gut that Jeremy Kuzach was not the man whom he was looking for. He was well aware of what that would mean for Brennan and the other two women.
When Booth's vision began to blur, he sat back and squeezed his eyes shut. He was so tired he felt as if he could easily fall asleep standing up. Booth leaned forward and held his head in his hands. He had such a headache and it just would not go away.
Booth tensed as he felt a presence behind him, "Seeley? Hey man, what happened to your head? Are you all right?"
Booth was shocked to find that it was his cousin standing behind him, "Hey Matt, what are you doing in DC? And what are you doing in scrubs and a work badge for this hospital?"
"Well if you would ever bother to check your phone messages or go home for that matter you would know," Matt answered as he covertly checked out Seeley's bandaged head. Booth gave his cousin a just-answer-my-question look. Matt rolled his eyes and sat in the chair across from Booth, "It's a temporary transfer. I'm helping out an old med. school teacher of mine. He's the hospital director here. Anyway, his chief resident moved away suddenly leaving him in a bind. Long story short he called me to see if I could fill in as chief resident till he finds someone permanent."
Matt idly looked at the files in front of him, "So what's this all about?"
"It's just a case I'm working on," Booth answered offhandedly
"Is this case what happened to your head?"
Booth ignored the question and look at Matt as if something just dawned on him, "Where are you staying?"
"At your place. Like I said if you ever bothered to go home you would know that. Hey, who is that guy?" Matt asked indicating one of the pictures that were attached to a file.
Booth looked at his cousin strangely, "You recognize this man? Arthur Kuzach?"
"I don't know his name, but I saw him here. Who is he?"
A sense of dread fill Booth's chest and settled in his stomach like a led weight, "Here, as in here in the hospital?"
Matt looked worried and confused, "Yeah. I passed him on my way down here. He was standing just inside the stairwell on the fourth floor. What's going on? Seeley?"
Booth jumped up from his chair, 'The fourth floor? God that's the floor Bones is on!' he ran for the nearest stairwell hoping against hope that Matt was mistaken and that Bones was in no danger, but his gut told him he needed to get to her as soon as passable.
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11:06 P.M. Thursday
Washington Memorial Hospital: Room 427
Temperance jumped out of the bad and away from the man painfully ripping out her IV in the process. The man ran around the bed and tried to grab her but she was too fast. She seized her rolling bed tray and rammed it into the man's stomach causing him to trip over a chair that was behind him. The man grunted as the wind was knocked out of him. The man had fallen awkwardly and was now wedged in the corner with the bed tray pinning him down.
Temperance tried to find some sort of weapon but could find none. She then rushed to the door only to find that the man had wrapped a bike chain around the handle and secured it to the disability rail. She pulled and tugged on the door anyway but it would only open an inch or two. There was a loud scraping noise behind her, she turned and saw that the man was making headway on getting himself unstuck. Feeling trapped and helpless she jerked the door as for as it would go and screamed, "Help me, somebody. Please, somebody, help me," desperation and panic colored her voice.
When yelling didn't seem to bring the officer that was supposed to be guarding her or anyone else for that matter to come to her aid she began looking once again for a weapon. She jerked open the cupboard by the door there was nothing of use in there. She was about to slam the cupboard door shut when something caught her eye at the very back. She reached for the back of the cupboard and pushed and to her surprise it opened it was a two-way cupboard it led straight into the hallway.
Temperance instantly chucked the blankets and pitcher off of the shelf and started to shimmy her way through it. She was halfway through the cupboard when she heard a loud crash behind her. He had finally freed himself and was now rushing to catch her. She doubled her efforts to get away.
She was almost home free when she felt a hand wrap around her ankle she tried to pull away from him but to no avail. She then started to kick she made solid contact on her second try he grunted and let go. She had been pulling so hard against him that when he let go she instantly dropped. She landed painfully on her shoulder. It jarred her body so badly that it took her breath away.
When Temperance was able to focus again, she saw her guard, he was lying on the floor she was not sure if he was alive or not.
The man didn't even try to squeeze through the cupboard. She heard him at the door messing with the chain. Temperance crawled over to the cop, she needed a weapon. She checked to see if the officer was alive she was relieved to find that he was, and just out cold. Temperance saw that the officer still had his gun but she couldn't get to it he was lying on it and she was too weak to push the man over to get to it. If she couldn't get his gun well at least, she could use the handcuffs for something.
Temperance ran to the nurses' station she felt that would be the best place to find some sort of weapon. Also, she didn't want to put any of the other patients in danger by hiding in one of their rooms. When she made it to the nurses, station she found the nice red-headed nurse and another one she had not seen before were both knocked out. Temperance looked around and found a used syringe on the floor. Obviously, it had been used to incapacitate the two women and the cop.
Temperance picked up the syringe and she ducked under the desk as she heard the man make his way down the hallway, "Hello? Where are you? Come on Pumpkin, come out here. I know I was mad at you before but I'm not anymore. I love you. Don't you know that?" When he didn't get an answer he became angry, "You know no one can help you and I will find you. And when I do . . . "
He let the threat hang there. She shuttered as the man got closer. Temperance gripped the syringe and tensed getting ready jump the man if he should find her. As she scooted closer to the desk, she spotted a potted plant in the corner with a big garden stake in it. She was so focused on her new potential weapon that she didn't hear the man sneak up.
Out of nowhere, he grabbed her by her gown. It happened so suddenly that Temperance didn't have time to think she just jammed the syringe into his hand. As soon as she was free, she sprinted for the potted plant. The man howled in pain and cursed her as she struggled to pull the stake free. Finally, she had it. She wielded it like a baseball bat.
He flung the syringe across the hallway angrily. He was now so enraged that he just charged Temperance regardless of the stake. She ducked away from him and hit him upside his head. Before he could recover she hit him again this time much harder. He fell to the floor this time unconscious. Not fully trusting that the man was truly knocked out she rushed over to the desk where she dropped the handcuffs.
Once she had the handcuffs she rushed back over to the man. She did not want to be anywhere near him so as soon as she had cuffed him she scurried away from him. She was dizzy, lightheaded, and the pain that had mercifully left her alone while she was trying to get away was now back with vengeance. She pulled her knees up and rested her head on them not sure if she wanted to laugh or cry.
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11:12 P.M. Thursday
Washington Memorial Hospital: fourth floor
Booth came charging up the stairs and down the hallway to Bones room. When he got to her room, it was a mess and Bones was nowhere to be found and the cop that was supposed to be standing guard was lying on the floor. He quickly checked to see if the man was alive. Booth heard someone behind him he spun around ready to face any threat, but it was only his cousin and two hospital security officers. He motioned for the two guards to follow him.
Panic again squeezed his chest as he ran down the hallway. He could not help but feel that he had once again let Bones down. If anything were to happen to her he would not be able to live with himself. Just when he thought that all was lost he saw her.
It was the most beautiful sight in the world to him. He rushed over to her. He had to step over the unconscious body of Arthur Kuzach. Booth kicked him out of the way with a little more force than was needed before he seized Bones in a big hug. At first, she fought him but as soon as she realized it was Booth she clung to him and started to cry, "you're all right now Bones. It's ok. I'll take care of you I promise."
Matt rushed around checking on everyone to make sure they were all right. Booth took Bones to get checked out as Penning come in and hauled Arthur Kuzach away.
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After an hour of doctors checking to see if she was all right and the FBI asking questions, Temperance was exhausted. She was now in a new room and Booth was sitting next to her bed. He was still holding her hand he hadn't once let her hand go since he had found her. Even when he could no longer keep his eyes open and had fallen asleep he still held her hand.
A warm fuzzy feeling settled in her chest as she looked at him. She squeezed his hand and smiled as she was starting to drift off to sleep, "Thanks, Booth. Thanks for finding me."
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Well what did you think?