Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bones or its characters. All credit goes to their rightful owners.
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Chapter Seven
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One day you will accept me." Oliver said after kissing her. "We will be happy, Temperance."
"Take off the blindfold. Maybe that will help." She had no real hope. She's been asking for its removal every time he came in here. Much to his dismay.
"You know I can't do that, Temperance. Not yet."
She licked her dry lips, feeling them crack. "Water?"
"Not yet. You still have twenty-four hours to go. I told you if you kept head butting me you'd regret it. The more you fight, the longer you will have to stay tied up."
Twenty-four hours. It had already been about a day since she had water. Longer since she had food. "I will be no use to you if you kill me." Her throat hurts. Her everything hurt for that matter. She was sure he bruised her ribs. Well, Willis did, but who did what hardly mattered to her at this point. She was just their okay thing.
"Oh no, baby. Don't worry. I won't let you die. I promise. I love you, don't you know that?" He caressed her cheek. She jerked away from his touch the best she could.
"Death would be nicer." Her words were mumbled.
"Oh Tempe. One day you will love me the way I love you." He touched her face again. She hated his gentle touches. She prefers Willis' slaps. At least his slaps weren't intimate. God, it made her skin crawl the way Oliver touched her with kindness.
"Booth will find me."
"Don't talk about him!" Oliver snapped. Booth was a sore spot for Oliver. One Brennan touched often. Maybe it wasn't the smartest approach, but she was caring less and less. One way or another, this had to end.
"Booth will find me and he will kill you. And then he will hold me and I will let him. I would let him hold me all night long and love it." She could hear Oliver's sharp inhale, the anger practically radiating off of him.
She heard him take a few steps and heard the flip of the switch. Felt herself rise, from sitting until she was on her toes. "You will stay like this until you learn to respect me."
This hurt and it put more strain on her already strained muscles. She knew she shouldn't show the pain. Or the fear, but she was so tired, and if she couldn't show the pain, the fear took over.
"Take it off!" She yelled at his retreating steps. "Take the blindfold off! Take it off!" The door slammed closed and she sobbed. "Please. Please take it off. Please." She fought the restraints, crying out when they cut into her already raw wrist. "Let me go!"
After a while she calmed again, closing her eyes to pretend closed eyes were the reason she couldn't see. Yelling won't help. Demanding won't help. She knew this. She knew this well and yet logical thought seemed to be slipping away from her. Her emotions seemed to have taken the wheel and she couldn't seem to stop the emotional outbursts. She couldn't seem to stop saying everything that she was thinking.
It was as if the emotions clawed their way to the surface, choking her with the demands to be free. And seeing as there was nothing she can do to logically free herself, the emotions continue to take command.
She shook, the fact that she couldn't reach the ground making it hard to ignore the constant cramping in her legs. The itch on her freaking nose! Something so simple, seeming almost painful.
"Next case." She said out loud. "Someone sends a mandible to the Jeffersonian. I'm still in shock that Booth is alive and pissed he didn't tell me. Zack alerts us of the delivered package. Within minutes we know it's related to the Gormogon case."
"What was the dirt found on the body?" Booth asked sounding as if he didn't really care. Because he didn't. He wasn't ready to move on from Brennan's case, but his boss gave it over to missing persons and he was told to focus on the unsolved case that had landed in their laps the night before Brennan's kidnapping.
Hodgins gave him an annoyed look but answered anyway. "Dust. It's make-up suggesting it can from maybe a basement. All it really tells us is that it's somewhere in Virginia.
"Signs of sexual assault, but no DNA." cam added on.
"There's a fracture on her Iliac crest suggesting that someone hit her with a blunt circular object. Like the top of a baseball bat." Wendell let out a sigh. "I'm no Dr. Brennan."
"You're doing great, Wendell," Angela reassured him.
"Yeah, you're doing great." Booth gave him the best smile he could. "I'm going to go talk to Rachel Delaney. She's the one who reported her missing."
"What about her parents?"
"I've spoken with them. They were informed of her murder the day after she was found. I spoke to them again a few days ago. They don't know much of anything. I guess they were estranged. I'm hoping to have better luck with the boss."
"How's it going in here?" Angela asked though she was finding it hard to care. It felt as if they were abandoning Brennan. How could they stop looking for her?
"We haven't stopped, Angie. We have nowhere else to look."
She looked at him with surprise, then smiled a little. "Are you sure you're not a mind reader?"
"Nah. I just know you. I promise we won't stop looking. If we find a line to tug on, we'll tug."
"I know. I just." She eyed the scarf he was pulling particulates off of. "Where did you get that?"
"It was with the victim."
"Is there a hole? A small one where the tag should be?" She could hear the hysteria in her voice.
Hodgins inspected the scarf. "Yeah, how did you know?"
She shook her head, trying to understand the connection. Trying to understand what it means. "I bought that scarf for Brennan two years ago for her birthday. She told me it went missing about a month ago."
"Angie, surely this isn't a one-of-a-kind scarf."
"No, but the hole? The fact that now it's here on a dead woman? A dead woman who looks an awful lot like Brennan?"
"You two aren't going to believe what I just found." Cam hurried in. "I ran the hair for DNA, and I was expecting it to be the victims but."
"It's Brennan's."
"Okay," Cam said in surprise. "How did you know that?"
"Because I recognize the scarf. This is Brennan's scarf."
"How did it end up with our victim? Brennan would have said if she recognized her?" Hodgins looked between them with so many questions.
"I don't know, but I have to tell Booth. In the meantime, we need to work this one fast and properly. Finding this woman's murder might lead us to Dr. Brennan."
"She was so full of life." Rachael waved for him to take a seat in her tiny office as she pulled out a tissue. "Even when life seemed to kick her down she'd show up with a smile on her face." She sat, running her hand through her short pink and green hair.
"Do you know of anyone who'd want to hurt her? Anyone she had a falling out with?"
Racheal shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of. She was the kind of woman you are drawn to. She never had anything meaningful to say. I can't imagine anyone who didn't like her. She was requested a lot. She was great with hair, but I think people felt comfortable with her because she was just that kind of person. Easy to talk to. Had a way of making you feel like she cared. And she did. Always remembered the names of her client's important people. Kids, husband, wives, friends."
"Did she have a boyfriend? Girlfriend?"
"There was one guy. She'd bring him up every so often, I believe she said his name is Nick Mills? They were on again and off again. She always said it was her, but I don't know, like I said, I can't imagine anyone who didn't like her."
Booth's phone buzzed, and he held up his hand to Racheal. "Booth." He listened as Cam explained what they found and how it seems that Brennan might be connected to this case. "You're sure? Okay. Thank you, Cam."
"Can you tell me, have you seen this woman?" Booth pulled up a picture of Bones that he had on his phone before showing her.
"Um. I mean, she looks a bit like Lyra wouldn't you say? But no. I don't think I've seen her."
"Okay. Thank you for your time." He stood, handing her his card. "If you think of anything."
"Sure. Of course."
"She's. Are you sure?" Nick stood, pacing the room. "God. I thought she just took off. Figured she was finally brave enough to leave."
"Why would she want to leave?" Sweets asked.
"Because she felt stuck. Her parents were nightmares. Constantly trying to control her. She dreamed of just taking off so they wouldn't know where she was. She wanted that freedom so bad. But she was afraid."
"Of?" Booth prompted.
Nick sat now, eyes red. "The unknown I guess. She was…so vibrant. So ready to take on the world. She saw the best in everything. Always smiling and making others smile. But that was just a mask, you know? Deep down she was afraid of the life she desperately wanted."
"And when you thought she left you? Without a word? Without a goodbye?"
"Lyra and I? We've had our ups and downs. I'm not sure what we even were to each other. Partners? Lovers? Friends with benefits." He let out a sigh. "I wasn't angry. I missed her. But I figured when she was ready, she'd find me."
"So you just accepted she left?"
"What else could I do? I knew she wanted out. I couldn't cage her in. God are you sure it's her?"
"Yes. Do you know of anyone who had a problem with her? Or anyone she seemed afraid of?"
"No, I…"
"What? What is it?" Booth leaned forward, hoping for anything that will help them.
"She told me about the husband of a client once. Said he came in once with her and he seemed enamored with her. She started running into him a lot after the fact. She was worried he was following her, but she had no way of actually knowing he was and it wasn't just a coincidence, and he never did anything wrong. Just waved and went on his way."
"Did she give you a name?"
"Willis. That's all I know. I'm not even sure if it's a first or last name."
She sat still as Oliver undid her ankle chains. Apparently, he was worried about infection and wanted to tend to the raw skin there.
"Please take off the blindfold." She asked yet again.
"Not yet," Oliver said as he put something on her ankle that burned. "You're not ready yet."
She was ready. So freaking ready to see again. She hated what her mind conjured up in the absence of sight.
Feeling a surge of anger, she kicked out, striking Oliver. His yelps of pain brought her a sliver of pleasure. She continued to kick, hoping to get him again as he tried to get control of her.
"Temperance! Be still! No, stop." He grunted when she got him again, seemingly knocking the air out of him.
"Let me go!" She growled out.
A large hand suddenly gripped her throat squeezing it until it blocked her air. "Be still. I won't let go until you're tied down again. Whether you live depends on you.
She flirted with the idea of fighting till the end. Surely death would be better than this? She could have it all end now. But then Booth came to her mind. The look on his face when he found her dead. Angela too. Both of them would be so sad. She had to survive for them, so she went still.
"Good girl," Willis said, making her stomach lurch.
Oliver got the chains back on and the feeling of them weighing down her feet made her want to scream.
"You are definitely not ready for the blindfold to come off," Willis said as he let her throat go. She gasped in air, mentally cursing them both.
Five minutes later she was alone again. Her throat was sore, and the kick to the ribs she received furthered her struggle to breathe. Assholes. She didn't even know if it was Oliver or Willis who kicked her.
She moved, trying to get comfortable. Or, as comfortable as she can get. "A fisherman and his son find a body in a frozen pond. Upon initial examination, Booth discovers a necklace that leads to the identity of the victim. Pete Carlson. Booth becomes our first suspect as he fought with the victim before he was killed. I never believe for a moment that Booth killed him. But we must work the case and pursue all angles of investigation."
"Angela!" Hannah called, getting Angela's attention.
"Oh, hey, Hannah. How are you?"
"I'm okay. Mind if I join you?"
"Oh yeah. Of course. Would you like some fries? I have way too many."
"Sure," Hannah sat, taking a fire. She seemed a little uncomfortable. Not that Angela was an expert on all things Hannah.
"You okay? Looks like you have something in your mind."
"I do. I'm just not sure it is appropriate to talk to you about it, but the thing is, I need insight. Perspective. I thought about talking to Sweets, but seeing as he's Seeley's physiatrist, he wouldn't morally be allowed to answer my questions."
Angela nodded thoughtfully. "Well, you can ask the question, and I can tell you if it's inappropriate or not."
She hesitated, clearly unsure. "I know that Temperance was in love with Seeley."
"Is." Angela corrected. "There is past tense."
"Okay. And Seeley told me that he once returned the feelings. Be he also said he's moved on."
"Can I ask you a question?"
Hannah nodded as she took another fry.
"Are these questions going to be used against My friends? What's the purpose?"
"I have no intentions of hurting Seeley or Temperance. I just…I'm trying to understand how deep this ran. I'm…" she let out a defeated sigh. "I think it's bigger than he leads me to believe."
Angela took a moment to gather her thoughts. Maybe she shouldn't be answering these questions, but she did believe Hannah had the right to know. "It was serious. The feelings of love were serious. And if you ask me? They both still love each other. And I don't mean in a friendly way. You can't be in love with someone the way they are in love and erase the feelings completely. I'm sorry. I can see that's not what you wanted to hear."
"It's what I expected." She took a minute to mull. "Temperance doesn't believe in marriage."
Angela laughed. "No, she doesn't. She believes that it's an antiquated ritual. She's made it very clear she's not ever getting married."
"Do you think she'd ever change her mind?"
Angela shrugged. "I can't claim to know what the future holds. But I wouldn't hold my breath. Why? Oh." She nodded understanding. "Because Booth does believe in marriage and you're trying to figure out what that would mean for them as a couple."
"Booth does believe in marriage. I guess it's another reason why it wouldn't work. He wants it all. Marriage, kids. Happily ever after."
"I don't know. Booth, he knows Brennan more than anyone. I'm sure of that. Even me. He knows she wouldn't ever do the marriage thing. I don't think it mattered. He loved her that much. He would sacrifice that to be with her."
"You think so?"
"Oh yeah, I do. But hey, he chose you. He loves you and is excited to spend his life with you. I wouldn't worry about his feelings for Brennan. Booth is a good guy. One of the best, really. He would never do you wrong. You can be sure of that."
"Do you know a Lyra Harper?"
"Nope," Willis said, popping the P.
Booth let out a humorless laugh. "Yeah. Well, we have proof that you do. She's your wife's hairdresser." Booth threw down a few pictures of Lyra. "Ringing any bells?"
"My wife left me months ago."
"Good for her." Booth tapped the photo. "See Lyra here mentioned that she met you at work, and then ran into you everywhere."
Willis shrugged. "Don't mean shit. I'm a busy man. Yeah, I saw her a few times. Gave her a wave. Don't mean I killed her."
"What about a Temperance Brennan?" Booth put her picture down. "What do you know about her?"
Willis picked up her picture, something crossing his face. Recognition? "Well?"
"She's that author, isn't she? The one who writes those crime books?"
"Yeah, she is. Very good."
"She looks a bit like Lyra. What do the two have to do with each other?"
"I don't know. You tell me?"
Willis tightened his jaw, looking put out. "Wouldn't know. She missing?"
Booth sucked in a sharp breath, losing his patience with the creep. "How about you drop the attitude and tell me where you were on the twelfth? Between midnight and five?"
Willis cocked his head. "This seems personal to you, agent Booth. Ever think that maybe the bitch just left you?"
Booth jerked from his seat, his fist finding the man's face before he could stop himself. Anger just hitting its boiling point. This fucker was playing with him. He allowed Sweets to pull him back, standing between the two.
Willis laughed, wiping the blood from his lip. "I have no idea where I was twelfth. That was days ago. Now either arrest me or let me go."
Booth's nostrils flared but had no means to keep the man. He hadn't done anything wrong, and there was no evidence to suggest he hadn't simply run into Lyra.
He closed his eye, getting his anger under control. He hated that he lost his cool. Never wanted to allow anger to propel him to throw fists.
"You good, Booth?" Sweets asked.
"Yeah. I'm good." He wasn't. But Sweets didn't need to know that.
Her screams echoed around her as Willis burned her hip. She'd tried not to scream, but after the third time, she couldn't keep them in anymore.
"He was so fucking cocky." Willis spat.
Brennan struggled to catch her breath. She leaned a little, trying to stay on her feet. "Who?" Whoever had pissed him off sucked because now he was taking the frustration out on her.
"Me." He said in Booth's voice.
She hated when he used it. It made her feel like she might break. She ached for Booth to find her. Longed to be safe with him, working cases. She wanted him to make her laugh and remind her that she was okay.
"He pulled me out of work and into the interrogation room." He continued, still using Booth's Voice. "Asked me about Lyra. Then you. I'll give it to you? They are good. But not good enough. They will never find you."
Brennan laughed as she filled with a hope she hadn't felt in a long time. She had no idea how long she'd been down here. Weeks? Months? Who knew. But Booth and her people were getting close. And what he didn't know is, that once they picked up the scent, they wouldn't let it go. "He'll find me. He always finds me."
"I think he will give up eventually. He's got the pretty blonde of his. Soon you will be nothing more than a memory while he makes a family with his whore." He kissed her cheek where a tear fell. "Don't worry, baby. I'll always love you. I'll show you."
And he did, in his messed up way. And as he penetrated her painfully, she focused on the case she'd been reciting before he'd showed up. She allowed herself to get lost on the case where she learned of Sweets' tragic past and gave him a glimpse into her own crappy memories.
Hannah paced the apartment, waiting for Seeley to return home. Yes, it has occurred to her that this wasn't the best time. Yes, she'd considered waiting, but there wasn't any end in sight. And she was doing this regardless of the outcome of Temperance's kidnapping.
While it was this mess that had brought this to the forefront, it has been brewing in the background for a while. She'd felt it there, simmering.
It was all the little things that started to add up to something big. It was the smile he got when they talked about Temperance. It was the way his eyes lit up when she entered a room. It was their shared jokes and innocent shoulder bumps that felt like they said so much more.
Then Temperance pulled away and it was in the pain she could see in his eyes. It was in the way he pretended to be unbothered by it, but she knew better. It was in the way he spoke to her on the phone, clearly glad to simply hear her voice.
And when Temperance was kidnapped? It was the murder in his eyes. The set of his jaw, the clutch of his hands. The consuming anger was both terrifying and honestly sexy as hell.
But it wasn't all him. It was her too. She was naive to think that they could just figure things out as they went. She knew he wanted marriage and she didn't. Then she realized he wanted more children. Biological ones. She didn't. He wanted everything marriage was. The house. The kids. The commitment. The white picket fence and quite possibly a dog. She didn't want to set down roots yet.
And then she realized what she hadn't realized before. Seeley was in love with Temperance. Who didn't want marriage. She'd only said yes so she wouldn't lose him. But he knew Temperance wouldn't want marriage and he was still willing to be with her. He wanted to make a life with her. And that said a whole lot.
The door opened and she turned to the sound. She watched as he disarmed, putting his gun in the hidden safe. He gave her that sad smile that seemed to be a new permanent feature. She hated it. With a smile like his? He should be smiling for real.
He went to her, pulling her to him and giving her a kiss that almost made her abandon her plans. Almost. "Hey."
"Hey." She cleared her throat as his eyes landed on her bags.
"You leaving? You just got back." He seemed to slump a little. This wasn't going to be easy.
"Hey, sit down with me." She sat on the coffee table, motioning for him to sit on the couch in front of her.
"Okay?" She could see that he was bracing himself. Ready for the bad news he knew she was going to give him.
"I've thought about how to do this for days."
"Hannah…" she covered his lips with her finger, silencing him.
"Please, let me talk." He nodded, and she moved her finger. "I love you. I don't want you to doubt that. But, I think we both need to take a hard look at the reasons why I can't stay."
She paused as he closed his eyes, looking so beyond tired. "I don't want children. Not yet anyway and when I do? I want to adopt. I don't plan on budging on that. You do want children. Biological ones and you want them soon. I don't want to buy a house and set roots. I don't even know if I want to stay stateside. I don't want to get married. I never did and I never should have said yes."
"Then why did you?" He sounded so hurt, and looking into his hurt stricken eyes, she felt her heartbreak.
"Because I wanted you. Because I love you. I wasn't ready to let go and at the moment? God, at the moment I thought that marrying you might be worth bending my views on marriage."
"What changed? Why back out now? Hannah, I love you." He took her hands.
"Temperance doesn't do marriage. Would you have stayed with her? Knowing that she wouldn't marry you, would you pursue her anyway?"
His eyes met hers and she knew once and for all what she'd already suspected. "And if I had said no? What would happen? Would you have stayed with me?"
He took his hand back, looking defeated. "I think that says something, Seeley. The fact that you would forgo marriage to be with Temperance, but not to be with me."
"Hannah I." He shook his head. He couldn't dispute her words. His throat get tights as he swallowed. "I'm sorry."
She nodded as she fought back tears. "We were both not thinking. Neither of us thought of the future. Not when you asked. Not when I said yes."
"No, I did. I wanted that future. I wanted you, us."
"But we never discussed it. Not past the hypothetical. We never talk about anything serious. It was why I loved being with you. You never pushed and neither did I. But it wouldn't sustain us. I think it was always leading to this."
"I'll miss you." He looked so disoriented. "I'm sorry. I never wanted you to feel second best."
"I never did. I know you'd marry me. I know you'd be faithful and never make me feel like you were longing for another. But I would know it all the same." She put her hand on his cheek. "You're a great man, Seeley Booth. But you can't give me the freedom I want, and I can't give you the life you want."
"So this is goodbye." It wasn't a question. It was more a statement of acceptance.
"Yeah. This is goodbye."
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I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Reviews and comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks :D
