The delay in getting this chapter completed and posted was unavoidably delayed due to some professional and real-world conflicts in terms of time, but here it is. I decided to shift slightly and have a chapter where we see Bones and Angela and what they are doing during this day four while the men are salivating over the leftovers from the Easter feast. There will also be a twist to the plot development. I hope you enjoy this one. Gregg.
Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, these characters or franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Day Four, cont.
Bones was sitting cross legged on the couch with her laptop poised on her thighs as she rapidly typed. She was working on the latest chapter of her new novel. She'd had a burst of inspiration when she woke up in the middle of the night and had been spending the last few hours working on putting said inspiration into practical form. A shrill beeping tone interrupted her work, and she glared at the small icon on the screen alerting her that she had a ZOOM call coming in. As she wasn't expecting anyone, she was understandably a little perturbed. She tapped the icon and the screen shifted to the ZOOM room.
"Angela?" she asked when the video image of her friend showed up on the screen.
"Hey, Sweetie," Angela said with a smile. She'd been missing some visiting time with her best friend. With Hodgie asking every half hour or so to have her Father arrested and committed to an insane asylum, she was wanting some relaxing conversation. "You busy?"
"I was working on a new chapter for the latest novel," Bones said as she settled back.
"And the kids?" Angela prodded. Getting Brennan to engage in small talk was like pulling teeth without any anesthetic.
Bones chuckled. "Spying on Booth," she revealed. "I taught them basic observation techniques, so they are surreptitiously observing how much of his leftover prime rib he snacks on."
"And how's he doing?" Angela asked, a grin on her face. Booth was doomed with those little devils on the job.
"As of 2:00 he has only half of his Prime Rib left from what was left over from yesterday evening," Bones revealed. She knew that teaching her children observe and evade techniques would come in handy. Now she could have a solid conversation with Booth about his horrendous diet. "Christine attempted to convince me that she should liberally cover the Prime Rib with the colorless, odorless and tasteless extra strength laxative as a joke on Booth, but I told her not to. I'm not sure, however, if she followed my instructions regarding that."
"How extra strength?" Angela gasped in surprise. She knew that young Brennan in training was dangerous, but this was a whole knew level of dangerous. In a good way, of course, but she highly doubted Booth would see the humor on this one. Most likely he would blame Hodgie instead of his little Angel, which would really ramp up the tension in Hodgie's Man Cave, as it was Hodgie who had taught Christine how to make liquid laxatives one afternoon when the young girl had been allowed to spend time at the lab. She made a mental note to warn Hodgie of the Tsunami of angry, fire breathing Booth that would be heading his way in the not so distant future once the quarantine was over.
"It is more potent that the standard cleansing laxative given for colon prep necessary to prepare for a colonoscopy," Bones replied. Now she herself was beginning to wonder if Christine went against her wishes and laced Booth's Prime Rib. But that could wait. If anything had happened, she was sure that Booth would have let her know that something wasn't right.
"Sweetie, you might want to check on that husband of yours," Angela suggested. "I have a feeling that if Uncle Jack showed her how to do something, she wouldn't have any qualms about putting it to good use, regardless of what you said."
Bones thought about it for a moment and nodded in agreement. "Perhaps you're right," she replied, moving her laptop to the side and standing up, looking down at the screen. "I'll call you as soon as I determine if Booth has been damaged."
Angela chuckled as the screen on her end went dark. "Damaged?" she questioned. "I have a feeling that Booth will be a little more than damaged if Christine laced his snacks."
At that moment Booth was not feeling so good. Fifteen minutes before he had suddenly developed a horribly upset stomach and felt thoroughly wiped out. His joints ached, and he could not figure out what was happening. In the last ten minutes he had been to the can twice, letting loose in ways that defied description after having rushed as fast as his wiped-out person could carry him to the nearest toilet. Something was definitely not right in the Temple of Perfection that was his body that, according to Bones, had perfect symmetry. He was still in the master suite trying to figure out the best place for his sorry behind, and finally flopped down on the bed deciding it was not the time to be too far from the Throne Room. Maybe the three massive Prime Rib sandwiches he'd had that morning and early afternoon hadn't been such a great idea after all. That and all the mashed potatoes and stuffing he'd gorged on, too.
"Booth?"
Booth raised his head weakly and saw Bones standing in the door to their bedroom looking concerned. Damn! If she got wind of his condition, then he could well find himself in an even more restricted quarantine! All based on the science, of course, but the result would be the same.
"Hey, Bones," he said, and he could hear the weakness in his voice, so he knew he was doomed!
Bones took one good look at Booth and could tell that he was quite unwell. She had to make sure of one thing, though, before setting in motion something that Booth would definitely not like.
"Christine!" she said loudly.
"Yes, Mom?" Christine said as she came up beside her Mother and looked over at her Father who looked horrible.
"Did you put that laxative on your Father's Prime Rib?" she asked patiently.
"WHAT?!" Booth bellowed weakly when he got the gist of what his daughter may have done to him. Hodgins! It had to be that conspiracy nut who turned his sweet, little Angel into a saboteur! He was going to pay a visit to that sick nut and make what Billy had done to him seem like a love tap by comparison! As soon as he felt like he could move without rushing to the Throne every two seconds, that is.
"No Mom, you told me not to," Christine answered.
Bones knew her daughter wouldn't be lying about that, so she nodded and then looked at Booth with a clinical eye. "What are your symptoms, Booth?" she asked bluntly.
Booth gulped. Sighing somewhat miserably, he told her. "Aching joints, the trots, extreme fatigue, and nausea," he said dejectedly.
Bones raised a brow. All individually could be explained away but taken together could mean that he had COVID-19. At least his breathing was not compromised, but that could change. "Do you have a headache?" she asked.
"Throbbing," he admitted. He just knew he was going to be getting a trip to the hospital. If, by some miracle, he survived he was going to do some serious damage to Hacker. The jealous waste of skin had crossed way over the line with this shit!
"There is a possibility that you have contracted the virus, Booth, and it is only now manifesting symptoms," Bones told him. "I will contact Dr. Tran and arrange a test, and possibly transfer to the hospital."
Booth was too wiped out to even argue. He just laid his head back and groaned.
Bones left the room and went to her cell phone to make the arrangements. She hid it well, but she was extremely worried. Not only for Booth, which was worrisome enough, but also for their children. If Booth had contracted it from Andrew, then they all could have. She decided to ask that she and the children be tested, as well, just in case. Five minutes later and the arrangements were in place. Booth would be transported to the hospital, and she and the children would be tested and continue isolation at the house. She resolved to pay a visit to Andrew when this was all over and have a little talk with him about his actions. It would not be a pleasant conversation.
A/N: I kept thinking about this for some time and decided that it didn't make sense for no one of them to get it at some point and decided to let the hammer fall on Booth. Granted, he doesn't have all the most difficult symptoms, but it makes sense for him to be the one to deal with the disease. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Gregg