The Girls In The Ground
Bones / Beauty And The Beast
by Thomas Mc

Chapter 5

From their hidden vantage point Booth and Brennan both gasped softly at the significance of the cloaked figures words as they hit home. Booth felt his interest and excitement increase dramatically as he realized that this was the connection he had been looking for. Based on the words of that cloaked figure, that woman was one of the two that had escaped. She was a bonafide living witness that may have answers to what really happened here so long ago. It also appeared that the cloaked man (his voice had a very masculine timbre to it) must be the only child to survive whatever evil had been perpetrated on those innocent victims.

Brennan was having very similar thoughts. She began to speak very softly to herself. "If the cloaked person is the child of that woman, he is the only surviving result of whatever experiment that evil man had been engaged in." She paused in thought then continued, her voice taking on a very sad tone. "I wonder what kind of terrible birth defects that cloak must hide."

Though spoken very softly, Booth had heard her words and glanced over at her in surprise. Leaning close to Brennan, he commented quietly. "This case keeps getting more twisted with each new discovery." Then he frowned as he spoke softly to himself. "But how is Catherine Chandler and that other couple tied in to all this?"

As Booth stared through the binoculars, pondering that question, the cloaked figure turned to face Catherine and pulled back his hood then spoke again. "And thank you, my love, for making my very strange life worth living."

Booth was overcome with panic as he felt his world disintegrating out from under him. He continued to stare at the impossible apparition transfixed by what it had to mean. The hallucinations were back! He dropped the binoculars and staggered back into the wall behind him, shaking his head. "Not again!" He pleaded with the universe. "I've already lost too much of myself. I can't go through this again. There'll be nothing left of me." He slowly slid down the wall, his mind swirling with thoughts of loosing himself, a piece at a time, until there was nothing left but a hollow shell.

Brennan dropped the directional microphone and stared in rapidly deepening worry as Booths expression degenerated into despair while he mumbled something about losing himself. "Booth?" She inquired worriedly. The next moment she whipped back around, picked up the binoculars and looked through them to see what Booth had seen that could reduce him to such a state. The image came into focus and Brennan gasped at the impossible creature that was now staring straight back in her direction. "No, it can't be! It's just not possible!" She exclaimed.

A groan from Booth drew her attention to him. He had slid down the wall and was now crouched on the ground shaking his head and mumbling to himself. "I can't do this again. There'll be nothing left of me."

Brennan knelt down in front of him and called to him. "Booth? . . ." She touched his shoulder. "Booth! . .." She roughly shook his shoulder. "Booth, look at me!"

Booth looked up at her, desperation mixed with despair suffused in his features. "Their back, Bones. The hallucinations are back." Then his head was in his hands.

Brennan was now totally focused on Booth and she didn't see the three people that came up behind her. She pulled Booth's hands away from his face. "Listen to me Booth! You're not hallucinating. I saw the creature as plain as I can see you now. The tumor is not coming back. What you saw is real."

"Who are you?" A voice behind her demanded. Brennan whipped around to see Catherine Diana and Dennis standing nearby scowling at her.

Catherine's expression changed to one of surprise with a hint of fear. "You?" Her glance alternated between Booth and Brennan. "We were told that you went back to DC yesterday. Why are you spying on us?" She demanded.

Brennan barely heard what was said over the chaotic thoughts whirling through her mind. She stood and looked past the three confronting her but the place where they had been standing a few moments ago was now deserted. "Where is it? What happened to the creature?" Brennan demanded in return as she looked around for any sign of it. "You have to bring it back."

The use of certain words that Catherine had been expecting and fearing sent a cold shiver up her spine. "What are you talking about?" Catherine evaded. As she glanced back and forth between the two, she finally noticed the palpable look of distress on Brennan's face. She paused to look a bit closer. Her gaze was irresistibly drawn back to Booth, huddled with his face a mask of total despair. "What is wrong with him?" She added, finding herself to be nearly as disturbed by the look on the agent's face as she was at their discovery of Vincent's existence.

"That creature that was with you three . . ." Brennan pointed toward the empty pool of light. ". . . over there. Booth saw it and now he thinks that the hallucinations are coming back." Brennan's voice took on a tone of entreaty. "I have to find that creature and prove to Booth that it is real." Her voice became softer and more desperate as she glanced toward Booth. "Otherwise I may lose him to his own very real and very deep fears." She looked back at Catherine.

Catherine could hear the desperate urgency in the woman's words as well as see it in her face. After a moment's reflection, her own attitude softened slightly in response. "What is this all about hallucinations and what does it have to do with . . . the creature, as you called him?" She inquired in her best stern courtroom attitude.

Brennan paused to calm herself so that she could talk coherently and explain the problem to these three people. She glanced over at Booth and took a deep breath to clear her mind. For Booths sake she needed to get through to them just how important this situation was. With one more glance at Booth she took a deep calming breath.

Then she began to speak. "The first indication we had that there was something wrong was when Agent Booth started having hallucinations. Agent Booth is one of the most stable, sensible people I know. We immediately sent him to the hospital to find out what was happening to him. Tests showed that he had a brain tumor. He was rushed into surgery and it was successfully removed. The biopsy of the tumor indicated that it was benign so we had hope for a complete recovery. But after he woke up from the operation we discovered that he had lost some of his memories. More devastating was the discovery that there had been some minor changes in his personality. None of them were serious but they were noticeable, such as his preferred style of dress, how he would walk up stairs, which hand he used to hold his cell phone . . ." Brennan shook her head to dispel the disturbing cloud of sorrow that threatened to overwhelm her rational objectivity. "And there were changes in his attitude toward some things that he liked or disliked."

Brennan looked around to see that she had the full attention of the three people. Her voice trembled. "I have to . . ."

She paused a moment to compose herself. "I have to convince him that the creature is real, he could retreat so deeply into himself that I will never get him back He wanted so badly to find the two girls that escaped that he may think that that older woman is also not real. " She paused a moment as she glanced over at Booth. "I am having a difficult enough time convincing myself that I saw what I saw. It is going to be very difficult to convince Booth that the creature is real and not a hallucination even when it is standing right in front of him."

Catherine was torn between her need to protect Vincent, her annoyance at the way this woman referred to Vincent as a "creature", and her sympathy for the plight of Agent Booth. The annoyance at the 'creature' remark momentarily won out. She retorted rather sharply. "To begin with he is not a creature . . . and his name is Vincent." She paused to compose herself.

Then her sense of caution and her protectiveness toward Vincent kicked in and her voice shifted from sharp to courtroom stern. "And if you want our help then anything you learn tonight stays strictly between us. You must swear that you will never tell anyone else about him. I also want your word that you will not interfere with our lives afterwards or try to turn him into some kind of lab study."

Brennan thought for only a moment. "Whatever you want." She realized that she would do anything if it would help bring Booth back to her. "I agree to all your terms." Paused expectantly but inside she was wondering what would happen next and worrying about Booth.

Catherine gazed at Brennan for a moment then shifted her gaze to Booth, still huddled down against the wall. Then Catherine's eyes glazed over and for several seconds she seemed totally oblivious to her surroundings.

Brennan quickly became concerned about the way Catherine seemed to have completely zoned out. She looked curiously at Dennis and Diana. "What's wrong with her?"

Diana and Dennis looked at each other and seemed to engage in a quick silent exchange the Dennis nodded. Diana shook her head and responded. "Nothing's wrong. Just give her a second."

Finally Catherine snapped out of it and began issuing orders. "Diana, Vincent has gone below and is heading toward the community. He's moving much slower than normal so Jennifer must still be with him. I need you to catch up to Vincent and Jennifer, and make sure they get to the brownstone. Dennis, Doctor Brennan, you need to help me get Agent Booth over to my place."

Though he seemed to be barely aware of his surrounding they were able to get Booth up and moving and were able to get him into Dennis and Diana's rather nondescript sedan. And the four of them headed south in the direction of Central Park. Brennan soon realized that they were driving down Central Park West. When they pulled up to a brownstone across the street from Central Park, Brennan was very surprised. Back when her book had become a best seller she had been urged by her publicist into looking for a new apartment. She had remarked on the extravagant cost of all the places she had been shown. Her Real-estate agent had comment that the price was pocket change compared to comparable places in the Central Park West area of New York.

~ o ~

In a very short time the four of them entered Catherine's brownstone. Brennan's first impression was one of significant wealth without being ostentatious. After a quick glance around she inquired of Catherine. "Where is the crea . . . ahhh Vincent?"

Catherine was once again speaking in her best serious courtroom manor. "Before I say anything I must again have your guarantee that nothing said or seen here will not go beyond these walls. The only reason I'm doing this is for his sake . . ." She pointed to Booth. ". . . and for Vincent and Jennifer's sakes. Neither would want your partner to suffer because of them." She cocked her head staring hard at Brennan. "However I will not let any harm come to Vincent or Jennifer so I must have your word that you will tell no one what you learn here tonight."

Brennan glanced uncertainly between Booth and Catherine, her strong desire to pass on what she had already seen at war with her need to help her partner get through this. Finally she relented. "You have my word, for Booth's sake." She straightened her shoulders. "When can we meet the . . . this Vincent?"

Catherine studied the other woman for a moment. Over the short time she had worked with these two she had learned that Brennan tended to be unemotionally, and sometimes brutally, truthful. Catherine believed that Brennan would keep her word. She began Explaining. "Vincent and Jennifer will be here in a little bit. They are on foot and Jennifer isn't as young as the rest of us." Catherine responded. "Why don't you and Agent Booth have a seat and we can talk."

Though Booth seemed to be lost in a dazed state, he was still cognizant enough to respond to Catherine's comment and sat on the nearest Love seat. Brennan immediately sat down beside him. She reached out and took his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Dennis sat down on the sofa and Catherine took the other love seat. A few moments of awkward silence followed.

In the bright light of the elegant parlor Brennan took a moment to look more closely at the newest person in this situation. Catherine had called him Dennis. His eyes drew her gaze. They were an unusually intense shade of blue that she had never seen before. After a moment she forced her forced her attention away from Dennis and turned toward Booth.

Brennan took Booth's hand and spoke softly but urgently to him. "Booth?" He turned his head to look at her. Encourage by the fact that he had responded to his name she continued. 'Your greatest strength is your ability to read people. You need to use that gift now to see that we are all speaking the truth here."

As Brennan's words Booth turned his attention to Catherine Chandler. He had begun to pay more attention to his surroundings and the wealth represented by this place was unmistakable. He had always disliked and distrusted the extremely wealthy and their sense of aloof entitlement. However Catherine Chandler never quite seemed to fit the type he was expecting. He had been certain from the very beginning of this investigation that she was hiding some deep dark secret but he was also convinced that there was no evil in her motives. He mulled over these incongruent impression. He turned his gaze to Brennan and felt faint wave of peace flow through him at the concerned look in her eyes.

Brennan noticed the slight easing of tension at the returning signs of awareness in her partner's eyes. She just hoped that she was right to force the coming confrontation. She knew that if she was wrong this could end up making things much worse. But if she didn't try to prove that Vincent was real Booth would continue to doubt himself and end up digging himself deeper into the pit he had fallen into.

She forced her attention back to Catherine. Finally Brennan spoke. "You called the older woman Jennifer . . . What can you tell us about her and is she really one of the two girls that managed to escape?"

This statement got Booths attention and he was suddenly more interested in what was being said. His fear for his mental condition and his confusing impressions of Catherine Chandler were shoved to the back of his consciousness. Here was his chance to get some of his questions answered.

Several possible ideas on what to tell them and how to explain it to them occurred to her in rapid succession. Most of them were quickly rejected. Catherine studied the two people in front of her a moment before responding. "Suppose I told you that not all records of what happened back then were destroyed?"

Brennan and Booth both responded strongly to her question. "You have some of those records?" Brennan asked as Booth leaned forward, eager to hear Catherine's response.

Catherine studied the faces of the two guests a moment. In particular, she noticed the dramatic shift in Booth's demeanor. This was it she knew how she wanted to do this. Finally she began to explain. "As far as I know, all of Julian's records were destroyed when his place burned down. However, about fifteen years ago, through a series of events that I won't go into right now, a close friend of mine came across eight pages that had apparently been torn from a diary or journal of some kind."

She studied their faces a moment and saw curiosity in Brennan's eyes and strong hints of anticipation in Booth's eyes. She nodded unconsciously to herself and continued. "Those pages turned out to be a chronicle of a young pregnant girl's escape from a sadistic madman named Julian and how her child was born in a back alley where she was hiding from her pursuers." She could see their now intense interest. Booth was showing much more animation as he leaned more forward in his seat. "Because of some things that I already knew about, I was able to verify that the written account was probably a factual report of what had actually happened that night."

Booth spoke for the first time since the incident at the construction site. "I need to see those records."

Catherine gazed at Booth for a moment. She wasn't sure if that was a good idea but the look in Brennan's eyes made her rethink that position. Maybe those very tangible pages would help Booth to more readily accept the reality of Vincent. She responded. "Now that I think about it, that might just be the best way to explain what happened. Also it might better prepare you for when Jennifer and Vincent arrive." She glanced at the Rolex watch on her wrist. "It's going to take them a while to get here." She stood up. "I'll be right back." She quickly disappeared up the impressive spiral staircase that dominated the parlor.

Booth and Brennan looked at each other, both faces showing uncertainty and curiosity in equal measure along with a hint of excitement. Brennan was gratified to see Booth looking more like his normal self but she could still detect a current of self doubt in his demeanor.

A few minutes later Catherine arrived holding a folder. As she sat down she explained. "This is just a photocopy of those pages I mentioned. The original diary pages are too precious to us and are kept in a safe place." She handed the folder to Brennan. "I warn you, that is a very personal and emotional account of a young girl's harrowing ordeal."

Brennan opened the folder to find several loose pages that were obviously copies of slightly smaller hand written pages. She began reading the first page, holding it so that Booth could read as well. As she finished a page she handed it to Booth since she could read slightly faster than him. - (Note to reader: If you are interested, the text of the eight diary pages, they can be found at the end of the first chapter of my story 'A Mother's Diary'.)

The pages were the story, told in her own words, of a young girl that that had been tricked and imprisoned by an evil man, named Julian, who had performed some very unpleasant experiments on the girl. These experiments had eventually resulted in her becoming pregnant by artificial means. Once she had realized that she would be killed once the baby was born she had become even more determined to escape. Her chance finally came when she first started to go into labor. Her desperate flight to freedom had been brought to a halt when she collapsed in a back alley where she gave birth to a baby with distinctly feline features. The baby had apparently died within minutes of being born. The girl, being on the run and in fear for her life had hidden the dead baby behind the trash and stumbled away, still trying to find her way out of the city. The story ended with her apparently collapsing from exhaustion on, what sounded like, the Brooklyn Bridge. After they finished reading, they looked at Catherine, their faces both showing how deeply the story had moved them.

Booth was the first one to speak. "What happened to the girl in the story?"

Catherine responded. "That girl is Jennifer and she was found by a nice young man that happened to be driving across the bridge when she collapsed. He picked her up and once he understood the gravity of her situation took her out of New York intending to take her as far as she wanted to go. He found a small town doctor in Pennsylvania to treat her medical condition. He ended up taking her all the way to his home in Arizona. They fell in love and were married. Dennis . . ." She nodded toward the named person. "is their son."

Catherine paused a moment to let them absorb what she told them before continuing. "As far as the baby goes, despite convincing outward appearances, he was not quite dead yet." That statement elicited raised eyebrows from both of her listeners. She now had their rapt attention as she continued. "Those three street people, Jennifer saw as she left that alley, found the dying baby and took it with them. One of the men was a brilliant but disgraced medical researcher and he was able to save the baby's life. After that the man raised the very unique baby as his own child. The child was named Vincent because he was found in the alley behind Saint Vincent Hospital."

Continued in part 6

'Bones' and its characters are owned by Twentieth Century Fox.

'Beauty and the Beast' and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures.

No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.