Title: Deja Vu

Disclaimer: Language, violence

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Chapter Nineteen: Dangerous Game

As she drove home she sang along to the tunes on the radio, always making sure to listen to the upbeat songs. The day didn't seem so bad now. Booth was okay, she was okay, the sun was shining, and everything was as it should be. So why couldn't she shake the feeling that something dark was looming on the horizon, something that would shatter her life? Parking in the first free spot she could find she nearly skipped to her apartment. It had been a long time since she had felt this happy, this joy in being alive. Every single day her job showed her the worst that people could do to one another, very rarely did she get to see the good in life. This was one of those rare occasions and she wanted to hold onto it as long as she could. Maybe she'd make a cake or something. It had been a long time since she'd baked anything. Did she even have the right ingredients?

Walking down the hallway she thought that maybe she'd invite Booth over for dinner the first night out of the hospital. They did have some talking to do anyway. Fresh on her mind were the words she wanted to say to him the night he was taken. He'd enjoy the food and jump at the chance to spend time with her. She would finally get out the words that had been taunting her the last four days. Lost in her happy fog she didn't realize right away that her door wasn't locked when she went to open it. It wasn't until she stepped into her disheveled apartment that the warning bells went off. For the umpteenth time she found herself wishing that she had a gun. Sure, she wasn't exactly the best shoot but it would give her some sort of advantage. She took a step back, planning to leave the apartment and call the cops. Instead of stepping back into the open space of the hallway she stepped back in the solid form of a human body.

Jumping forward she whirled around to see who had snuck up behind her. Sean closed the door, trapping her in the apartment with him. He looked troubled, almost like something was keeping him up at night and he finally found a way to get rid of the problem.

"What the hell are you doing in my apartment?" she asked, then quickly lied. "There's a cop downstairs. He'll be up here soon, he's just parking his patrol car."

Sean laughed. "I saw you through the window. You're alone. Don't lie to me. I am so tired of people lying to me."

That's when she noticed that he was holding a gun in his right hand. "Look, I don't know what's wrong with you, but killing me isn't going to be the solution. Please, just put the gun down."

He shook his head. "I can't do that. He was supposed to die, don't you see that? He was supposed to die and leave you in the same pain that I'm in, but your damn friends saved his life."

"What are you talking about?"

"I never should have agreed to be Temira's friend," he rambled. "I loved her and kept those feelings to myself. Look where it got me. I have all this pain and it's eating away at me day and night. I saw you making the same mistake so I had to teach you a lesson."

She realized that all this made sense to him, it was logical to him. To her it was just his way of making others feel his pain. "I hate to disappoint you, Sean, but I love Booth. I know that I love him and that he loves me. Your ploy worked, alright, so please, just put the gun down and let me call for some help."

He looked at her, glaring, his eyes passing through her. "No. I don't care that you love him anymore. It's too late. You should have realized sooner. You shouldn't have made me do this. Now I can't kill him. There are too many people around, so you'll have to do. He can lose you just like I lost Temira."

He pointed the gun at her, and she saw her life flash before her eyes, all the things that had happened up until this point. The door behind him flew up, the wood splintering, the lock breaking. He whirled around to shoot the intruder and the sounds of gunfire echoed throughout the building, chasing away all other sounds. She watched as Sean's body crumpled to the floor, the gun slipping from his grasp. She looked to her doorway, to see who had saved her life. There, with his gun in hand, was Agent Stone. He was breathing heavily and sweat beaded on his forehead.

She smiled at her. "We have got to stop running into each other."

"How…how did you know?" she asked him as the shock began to wear off.

He holstered his gun and stepped into the apartment as two uniformed officers appeared behind him. "Some of the findings at the docks. When I talked with Dr. Goodman he told me about Temira Brend. I had some quick background checks run on Sean and didn't really like what I was reading. When I was told that no one had seen him for a while, I got even more edgy. I knew that Booth was safe, but that left you, unaware and unarmed. The hospital told me I had just missed you. I tried calling your cell phone but you must have it turned off. I think we should just count ourselves lucky that I got here in time."

She nodded. "You know, Booth isn't going to like this one bit."

He gave her a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"

"He seems to think that you're some badass agent that can't be trusted. And yet, you saved his life and just saved mine. I guess you're not all that bad after all."

Agent Stone chuckled. "Now my secret's out. Promise me that you won't go telling everyone. I do have a reputation to uphold."

"I won't say a word," she promised. "So much for my even plans," she waved a hand at the body lying on floor. It was apparent that Sean had died. "Now what am I going to do?"

'Well, we'll put you up at a hotel for a day or two. Just until I get this guy out of here, get my pictures and have a team clean your carpet. You'll be the first one to know that the crime scene tape is removed."

"You know," she spoke, looking around he trashed apartment, "Booth sure does make life more interesting." Agent Stone laughed.