Author's note: I don't usually make such glaring errors, but somehow I forgot that in this timeframe Angela and Hodgins were already together. So, sorry. I'm trying to fix it, but I still needed him to be alone with Zach for a while. And since we're ignoreing some rules, lets pretend Zach never got that ridiculous haircut. Enjoy!
"To another case solved, and another bad guy behind bars!" exclaimed Angela, raising her glass of frozen red stuff. No one was really sure what it was, and no one really wanted to know.
The remaining squints and Booth raised glasses, beer bottles, and in Casey and Zach's case, water cups. This was a celebration for the solving of the most recent murder. The guy had thought to cover his tracks by putting his victim's fingers in hydrochloric acid to erase fingerprints. Little did he know it would soak into the bones and lead this crack team right to him.
Angela had badgered them all into going out for drinks, despite the fact that Casey said she didn't drink, and Zach stating flatly that his head still felt like it was full of broken glass and that he would never drink again. Of course, the night before had ended with him talking about his situation until he passed out. Between the two of them, they had put away a fifth of whiskey, and though he wasn't sure how much of it was his doing, he knew it was way too much. He had woken up at almost ten on the couch he had been sitting on with a blanket over him. Hodgins had gone to bed at some point, and Zach smiled at the fact that, even though he tried to be such a hard-ass, Hodgins had still covered him up before going to bed.
Casey, however, had been back in the lab at seven-thirty and started calling acid distributors. The third call had been a hit, leading to a suspect, and soon to an arrest. She was thrilled. Absolutely on cloud nine. This was what she wanted so much, and she had actually made a difference. Of course, Zach would have made the same discovery had she not been there, but even he needed a day to slow down.
As soon as Angela had suggested going out to the Roadhouse, the newest country music bar, she had been onboard. When everyone had agreed to go, she had rushed off to change, followed by Angela, and Dr. Brennan. The guys just looked at them funny and went on to the bar. The girls were a little later, but the wait was definitely worth it. Angela looked fabulous, as always, as did Dr. Brennan, but Casey was astonishing.
Ever since she started, she had dressed like the guys. Her favorite jeans were white, with several holes worn in them, and a variety of oversized t-shirts had hidden to all of them what was an extremely attractive female figure. Every jaw at the table hit the ground when she walked in wearing a tight black denim dress and cowboy boots. Hodgins thought that they would have to call an ambulance for Zach, but even Booth was impressed. Angela just smiled. Only she and Casey knew that she had helped pick out that dress, just in case the occasion presented its self. Casey might not be comfortable dressing up all the time, but that didn't mean she couldn't make up for it when she did.
She sat down at the table, blushing as she noticed them all staring at her. "What?" she asked. "Just because I'm one of the guys most of the time, I can't be a girl occasionally?"
Booth was the first to recover. "Kid, let me say on behalf of myself and the two here that are still trying to breathe, we'll not forget that you're a girl. Ever!"
She turned even darker. "Ok, I'm a girl. Can we move on?"
Brennan noticed her discomfort, and changed the subject. After a few minutes, Casey remembered that this was her little group, and began to feel more comfortable. Angela and Hodgins were getting a head start on being rather drunk, Brennan was drinking just enough to loosen up a little, and Booth was drinking enough to be social. Someone had to baby-sit the drunk scientists, and he was sure the junior squints just weren't up to the job.
Casey was enjoying the music, and as might happen to an attractive young woman in a bar, a guy asked her to dance. He was handsome, and she hadn't had a better offer, so she accepted. Angela was still out dancing with some guy, and Booth finally asked Brennan to dance. She accepted, and that left Hodgins and Zach alone at the table.
Zach was staring down, memorizing the wood grain of the table. He couldn't even look up at Casey. He couldn't watch her dancing with that other guy. Now that he knew what he was feeling, it made more sense, but it also opened him to the painful side. Like this, watching the woman he loved in the arms of someone else. He knew it happened, and that Booth had gone through it when Dr. Brennan was with Sully, and was thankful that it wasn't Hodgins with her out there. It was bad enough with a stranger, he couldn't imagine if it were his best friend.
Hodgins knew what was going through the boy's mind. "Why don't you ask her to dance?"
Zach made a face. "I can't dance."
"Oh, come on! It's the two-step! Watch for a minute, then you'll be able to do it. It's all about counting, and I know you can count."
"But what if she says no?"
"What if she says yes? Then you can tell her how you feel."
Zach shook his head violently. "No! I'm not ready, I have to think it through some more and figure out the way most likely to make her understand without scaring her and-"
"Then just dance with her, man."
He didn't reply, but did look up at her. His gut clenched as he watched the man in a cowboy hat's hand inch further and further down her back, and he grinned to himself when she reached around and slapped the wandering hand. Finally, mercifully, the song ended, and all the girls plus Booth sat back down. Angela scooted her red drink toward Casey. "Come on, lighten up. It's ok to relax now. Have a drink."
The girl shook her head. "I don't drink. I've seen too many bad things happen when people aren't fully in control." Her eyes went dark suddenly, as if a shadow passed over them, then it was gone. "Besides, it's a lot of fun to be the sober one among a bunch of drunk people. You can mess with them." She grinned.
Another song started, a slow one by John Michael Montgomery called "Hold on to Me". Casey jumped up. "I love this song! Zach, come dance with me!"
Zach hid panic mode, looking very much like Wyle E. Coyote watching the anvil fall toward him. "I-I-I don't dance!" he stammered. "I-"
"Ok," said Casey, disappointed. She went back onto the floor, and found the cowboy she had been dancing with. The others soon followed.
"Are you insane?!" Hodgins demanded. "There was your chance!"
"I know," Said Zach pitifully. "I just panicked. I didn't even know what I was saying." Hodgins almost laughed. Zach looked very much like a kid that just missed the ice cream truck.
"Then go," he advised the young man.
"What?! Now? But she's dancing with him and I don't know what to say, or where to put my hands, or even how to move or-"
"Calm down. Breathe, and just listen. First, you go up to her, tap her on the shoulder, and say "Can I cut in?". Put your hands where his are, but a little higher. Show her that you respect her. Then just led her lead." It was obvious that he was repeating those words in his head, trying to plan a few steps ahead, so Hodgins interrupted. "Stop thinking, Zach! Feel! Just go do it!"
He took in a deep breath. "Okay. I will." Hoping to exude a confidence he didn't have, he stood up as straight as he could, and walked around the edge of the dance floor to where Casey and the cowboy were dancing. He came up behind her, and his mind when blank. What was he supposed to say? What the Hell was he doing?! This was insane! What was he going to-
"What the Hell are you looking at, Shrimp?" the cowboy demanded, stepping back from Casey.
"I-uh-well-"
"I asked him to dance earlier. I guess he decided to take me up on that offer," said Casey, her eyes lighting up. She stepped away from the cowboy toward Zach, and he was about to put his hands where Hodgins said he should when the cowboy grabbed Casey's arm.
"Ain't no way you're going to walk away from me for this little piss ant!" His fingers dug into her bicep hard, tight enough that it would bruise by morning. He shook her a little. "He your boyfriend or something? I could snap him like a twig!"
Casey jerked her arm away with surprising force. "So what if he is? He's a hell of a lot better looking than your boyfriend!"
"Uh, guys?" said Angela uncertainly. The song had ended, and everybody was looking at Casey, Zach, and the cowboy. "This can't be good."
Booth started to stand up, but Brennan stopped him. "Wait. Let's see what happens."
He looked at her like she was insane. "This isn't some anthropological study! This is Zach and Casey, and they are about to get their asses kicked!"
"I want to see if Zach will fight for her," she stated flatly, and Booth sat back down reluctantly. But he stayed on the edge, ready to jump in at the first sign that things were getting out of control.
Unfortunately, there were no warnings or degrees of out of control. Things were tense, they had gone to hell. The cowboy took offense to Casey's insinuation that he had a boyfriend, and drew back a hand and smacked her across the face. For the first time in his life, Zach's emotion overtook his reasoning, and he launched himself at the much larger man. Cowboy's friend saw this, swung a barstool and hit the scientist across the back. Zach crumpled to the floor, and Casey grabbed a beer bottle in each hand and slammed them down on the second man's head. He rolled to the floor, and Cowboy grabbed her as his friend picked Zach up by the front of his shirt.
Casey was pissed. These bastards attacked her and they hurt Zach. In a split second, she pulled a switchblade and had it to Cowboy's throat. Everybody in the bar froze. Hodgins spit his beer back on the table. "Mother of God, she's got a knife!"
Casey paid them no mind. She was concerned with three people at the moment. "I'll kill him if I have to!" she exclaimed. "If you don't want to wash your friend's blood off your shoes, you'll put MY friend back on his feet and let him walk away."
It's never that easy. "You first," the other man said.
"Are you blind, or just stupid? I have the weapon, I call the shots!"
The guy was at least 6'6", and shook Zach like a rag doll. "Is that so? Do you realize I could snap his neck before you could cut his throat?"
Booth appeared out of nowhere. "Casey, why the hell do you have a switchblade? Those are illegal!"
She didn't take her eyes off the man who was threatening Zach. "Firefighter, Booth. Not illegal for me."
He tried again. "You and your buddy really want to leave here and brag that you beat up a girl and a scientist?"
"Piss off, bub. This isn't your concern."
"Why do we have to do things the hard way?" He drew his gun. "FBI, everybody freeze!"
No response. Casey's eyes never left the man who held Zach, who was afraid to even breathe. It would take less than a second for his attacker to break his neck. Cowboy was similarly frozen, a razor-sharp three-inch blade pressing into the skin over his jugular. And this chick was crazy, she would do it!
The remaining squints gathered behind Booth, also afraid to breathe. "Casey," said Booth, trying to remain as calm as he could, "Put the knife down."
"I don't think so, Booth. As soon as I do, Zach is dead."
He turned to the other two. "Put him down."
"Hell no! I put him down, that chick'll cut his throat anyway, just because she's pissed!"
Booth took in a deep breath. Great, just great. Why were these squints so damn unpredictable? He thought Bones was the one he needed to watch. At least she had never pulled a switchblade in a crowded bar! "Casey, if he promises to put Zach down, will you put the knife away? I have a gun now, I'll protect Zach."
"I don't think so."
He decided to try a new tactic, as bad an idea as it seemed. "Casey, put the knife down! Don't make me shoot you!"
Zach's eyes got even wider. "Don't shoot her! This is my fault!"
Brennan came up beside him. "You aren't really going to shoot my grad student, are you?" he looked at her, pleading for her to shut up. She didn't take the hint. "No, Zach, he not going to shoot her."
"He's going to have to," said Casey in a dead cold voice. "If he doesn't put Zach down, that's the only way he's getting my knife. Nobody lays a hand on me, and absolutely NOBODY hurts my friends!" Her grip on the knife tightened, and Cowboy let out a whimper.
"Just let him go, man! It's not worth it!" He was getting really scared. The girl was willing to get shot before she'd back down? Not the type he wanted to mess with anymore.
"What do you want, Casey?" Booth asked in his best hostage-negotiator voice. "What will it take for you to put let that guy go?"
"Not a lot," she said, voice still cold enough to freeze whiskey. "He's puts Zach down, Hodgins, Dr. Brennan, and Angela walk him to the door, and I let this guy go."
"Okay," said Booth. He turned to the other guy. "Does that work for you? If she doesn't let him go after you let this kid go, I will shoot her. Okay?" The guy nodded. "Zach?" The terrified young man nodded vigorously. "Casey, I'm sorry, but I'm going to turn the gun to you now. Don't move until Zach is safe."
"I won't she said. Just make sure he doesn't get hurt any worse."
He pointed the pistol at her, wishing to God he didn't have to, and said "Now put him down."
The man very carefully lowered Zach to the ground, even dusted off his sleeve where he had fallen. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he scrambled away from the fray. Angela checked over his wounds on the way toward the door. Dr. Brennan hesitated to go, but a look from Booth silenced her objections. When they had reached the door, He said to Casey. "Okay, kid, your turn."
Quickly as it had appeared, another button made the blade disappear, and Casey stepped away from Cowboy. She held the knife out to Booth, who was putting his gun away. He took the knife, and then she held out her wrists, palms up. "What, you expect me to literally slap you on the wrist?"
She looked at him, confused. "I had a hostage, Booth. You have to arrest me."
Booth winced, he didn't want to do that, but she was right. He had to. He took out his cuffs. "Behind, you, kid."
She obediently turned around and put her hands behind her. Booth hesitated, but Casey said, "Just get on with it, Booth! I understand."
Zach watched this with horror, surpassing the horror of the earlier standoff. He knew something Booth didn't. He couldn't just stand there. This had all happened to her because of his indecisiveness, his stupidity. "Booth, wait! It's not her fault. Arrest me instead. I did attack that guy. But you saw him hit her!" Zach wanted to do something; he couldn't let her go to jail over this. He was trying to stand up and be a man, but tears were threatening to overflow his eyes and run down his bloody cheeks. "Dr. Brennan," he pled, "Can't you do something?"
She thought for a second, as Casey looked at Zach, touched. "That's so sweet, Zach. But you were just trying to protect me." She turned to Booth with a heart-breaking look on her face. "Can I have just a second before you cuff me?" He nodded, still sick that it had to be done. She walked over to Zach, and gently touched the tender flesh that was already swelling and would turn out to be a brilliant black eye by morning. "My own personal Saint Florian, just like I said. I'm sorry you got hurt over me. But I don't regret what I did. I'm done letting people I care about suffer for what I do. Go home, put some ice on that eye, and a heating pad on your back. Did he hurt you very bad?"
His back felt like, well, like someone had broken a barstool over it, and if he pulled his shirt up it would probably reveal the beginnings of a spectacular sunset of bruises, but there was no way he'd let her know that. "I'm fine," he said, wishing he could do something, anything to fix this. He even wished he could say the three words in his mind, but he knew now wasn't the time. It would just hurt her more. "I just wish I could have protected you," he added softly.
"I'm fine, too," she said. "But I have to go now. Jack, take him home and take care of him. He may have a concussion, and his back is going to hurt pretty badly. Make sure he's okay for me?"
Hodgins nodded. "I'll take good care of him. You just be careful yourself." He also felt sick at the turn the evening had taken, but at least they all survived. He led Zach out the door, not wanting him to see the girl get handcuffed, and Angela followed quickly.
She went back to Booth, put her hands behind her back. He put the cuffs on, and looked around for Brennan. She ran up to him and said "Those two guys are gone. I looked for them to see if they wanted to press charges, but they ran off. If there's no one to press charges, do you still have to take her in? We don't even know their names!"
Booth gritted his teeth. There were too many witnesses not to arrest her, but that didn't mean she actually had to go to the police station. "Alright, you punk!" he said loudly, praying Casey would know what he was doing. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder to soften the blow of his words. "You're under arrest for assault with a deadly weapon, terroristic threatening, and disorderly conduct! I'm gonna personally lock your ass up! Come on!"
This display, along with him trying to look like he was being rough with her without actually being rough pacified the crowd that had been riled up by all the excitement, as he took both of them to his car. "I'm sorry, kid," he muttered in Casey's ear before roughly shoving her into the backseat of his SUV. He motioned for Brennan to get back there with her, and got up front. When they had driven away from the bar, he tossed Brennan the handcuff key. "Unlock her," he said.
Dr. Brennan did as instructed, and Casey rubbed the feeling back into her hands, confused. "I'm not going to jail?"
"No," said Booth. "The men you attacked ran off without giving a statement, so right now there are no charges against you. That doesn't mean that they won't go to the police in the morning and swear out a warrant. What the hell were you thinking?!"
"Booth!" exclaimed Brennan. "The guy hit her, he could have killed Zach! Do you know how much damage a blow to the back like that could have done? I think what she did was justified!
"Justified, maybe. Legal, no. Casey, are you okay?"
"Where are we going, then? I mean, if I'm not going to jail?"
Booth almost smiled, but he was too exhausted. "Well, if I'm right, there are three squints at the Hodgins residence that would like to see you in one piece minus the bracelets. And quite honestly, so Zach doesn't hate me. Do you know how dangerous it can be to have a genius forensic anthropologist/engineer pissed of at you? He could have a million ways to kill me before morning."
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"What is the purpose of using meat on a black eye?" Zach asked as he sat, sans shirt on Hodgins' couch holding a steak to his eye. Angela was carefully checking his back for broken ribs, but no matter how gentle she was, it still hurt and he couldn't help squirming a little.
"Jack, I can't do this! I'm hurting him!"
Zach winced, even her removing her hands hurt. "You're not hurting me. A barstool across my back hurt me. You're just reminding me!" Angela stopped to think about that for a split second and burst out laughing. It was just such a logical statement that made no sense in the context of tonight's events.
"Here, I'll do it," said Hodgins, kneeling on the couch beside Zach. "Brace yourself, buddy. I'll do it quick." Zach bit on his shirt sleeve as his friend pushed his fingers into each individual rib, checking for movement. Finding none, he stood up. "Okay, all done. Now, off to find some Tylenol."
"And an ice pack," Angela called after him as he left the room.
Zach was still holding the steak on his eye, finally removing it. "Casey's allergic to Tylenol," he stated. "What's she going to do?"
Angela had no answer to that one. At least, not one the younger man would like. What she wanted to say was that Casey probably had bigger problems than being allergic to painkillers. "Wait right here, Zach, I'll be back in a minute."
She went to join Hodgins in the kitchen. "What should we do?" she asked, laying her head on his shoulder.
He put his arm around her. "I'll give it an hour or so, then go down there. They should have set bail by then, and I'll go bail her out. Then I'll bring her back here. I think Zach would want to see her when she gets out."
"Yeah," she agreed. "So he's really got it bad for her, huh?"
"Yeah. He's absolutely nuts about her. But after tonight…"
Angela frowned. "What? You don't think he'll run to her and blurt out how he feels after all this like a normal person? She held a hostage for him! There will never be a better time to profess his love!"
Hodgins shrugged. "I don't think he'll see it that way."
"Why not?"
"Well, weird as he can be, he's still a guy, Angela. He still feels like he failed somehow tonight. Some anthropological thing about protecting the woman and alpha male stuff, and I don't know, it's just a guy thing. I'm afraid it may push him back into his shell."
She turned to peek into the living room at him. He was still on the couch, slouched over holding the steak to his eye, and his head in his hands. "You're right. This sucks."
He was facing the other direction, but she could hear the smile in his voice. "Maybe not as bad as we think…"
"What are you talking about?" she asked, then turned and saw what he was looking at. The security camera showed Booth's SUV pulling up at the gate.
"There are three people in that car!" Hodgins said. "Go in there with Zach. I'll meet them at the door."
He opened the door just seconds before Booth could ring the bell. He took in the sight of the girl standing there, Booth and Brennan behind her like parents, and couldn't keep the smile off his face. "What happened?" he asked.
"Well, you know," said Booth. "No complaining witness, no case. I'd rather she didn't stay alone tonight. You know, in case one of those guys followed her and wanted revenge or something."
"And she wanted to see Zach," Brennan added unnecessarily.
Casey was still silent, and it was rather disconcerting, considering the side of her they had just seen. But maybe when she saw that Zach was okay, she would perk up. "Here," said Hodgins. "Bathroom is this way. Let's get the blood off of you before Zach sees you."
She nodded, and let herself be led to the bathroom. Once there, she cleaned the blood off and stared at the newly forming bruises. It made her sick, and the memories she thought she had left behind came flooding back. Tears that had not been there seconds ago fell, and the picture was complete. Why did having a family have to result in this?
"No!" she whispered fiercely. "It's not the same! Not the same! They care about me! It's not the same!"
A knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts. "Casey? Are you okay?"
In a split-second, it was gone. The sickness the past brought to her heart, the pain remembering caused. She was here, now, and these people cared about her. And she needed to see Zach. He was hurt. He needed her. "I'm coming!" she called back. Washing the tears off her face, she looked like herself again, bruises notwithstanding. She exited the bathroom with a smile. "So, where's Zach?"