Note: A Stokes Basket is a tool used to rescue injured people from high-angle situations and on occasion remove bodies from said situations.

Disclaimer: I don't own them. This goes for this and all other chapters.

Zach woke up, more than slightly confused. Why was he asleep on Hodgins' couch again, sitting up this time? Why did his head hurt so bad? He looked down and saw Casey, stretched out on the couch, head resting on his thigh. What was…? He couldn't even form the question for that. Then he saw the black/purple handprint on her arm, and the whole night came crashing back. He remembered the fight, the pain, his fear for Casey going to jail, his joy when she had showed up here, safe. He remembered being on the verge of telling her how he felt when she told him he was her best friend. And now she was asleep in his lap. He grinned, trying to restrain his…feelings. It was clear that the 'best friends' thing was going to be…difficult.

Then he tried to move his back, and the grin vanished quickly!

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It was a week before Zach could pull a T-shirt over his head without unbearable pain. No one commented on the button-up shirts he wore to work after the three days Dr. Brennan had given him off. Nothing much had changed around the lab. Without a new case after the last three weeks, they were working on the dozens of unidentified bodies in the backlog.

"Looks like the cause of death was a knife wound to the throat," Casey stated to Cam. "This nick in the fourth cervical vertebrae indicates that there was a lot of force behind a very sharp blade. I'll have Angela run some scenarios." She straightened up and popped her neck. "How long has this guy been in Limbo?"

Cam rolled her eyes and looked up. "Zach!"

He looked up from another skeleton. "Yes, Dr. Saroyan?"

"I've asked you repeatedly no to call the backlog 'Limbo'. Now you've got Casey doing it!"

Zach smirked, and said innocently. "I'm very sorry, Dr. Saroyan. I'll never do it again, and I'll see to it that she doesn't either."

Casey fought back a giggle, and mouthed "I'm sorry" to Zach. He grinned and waved it off.

Turning back to Cam, she said, "So, how many bodies are there in Limbo?"

Cam thought about repeating herself, but didn't see the point. Zach shot Casey a look that he meant to look angry, but failed.

They heard the beep of another card being scanned, and looked around to see Booth hopping up on the platform. "Hey Bones, squints, Rocky. What's up?"

Casey grinned at the new nickname she had heard from first Hodgins, then Angela, then Cam, and she thought it had faded away, but then, they hadn't seen Booth in a while. She had been worried something bad had happened to him over letting her go, so at the end of the first week, she had made Dr. Brennan call him to make sure. Hopefully he wasn't mad at her.

"Hey," said Hodgins. "How come they get nicknames, and we don't?"

Booth looked at him strangely. "Okay, bug-guy, you got it. Now, I come bearing gifts."

Brennan spoke up. "We have a case?"

"You got it. Bones, you, Zack, and Rambo here pack up your stuff. We're going to have to go to the scene on this one."

"Field work?" exclaimed Casey, almost jumping up and down with excitement.

Zach was a little more wary. "Why aren't you just bringing us the body? Usually, you and Dr. Brennan go to the scene and the rest of us wait here. I rarely went with her, and now you need all three of us?"

"Well," said Booth, "the kid wants to get out in the world." No one was buying that, not even Casey. "I've missed the junior squints." Still not buying it. He sighed. "It's a long story, I'll explain in the car."

"Casey, go get the equipment out of the back."

She started off before the sentence was out of Brennan's mouth, but Booth caught her shoulder before she disappeared. "Not so fast. Got something else for you."

She actually winced. "Not an arrest warrant, is it?"

He shook his head. "I think you'll be pleased with this." He handed her a small white box that said Motorola in blue letters.

She tore the end open and her face lit up as she took out a grey device and stared at it. "Booth, a fire pager?! You got me on a department?!" She threw her arms around a very surprised Booth. "That's great! Will you take me in and introduce me to them? Hey, wait, how did you get me on without them even meeting me?"

He shrugged. "Chief owed me a favor. And you needed a way to take out some of your aggression. I figured busting out windows with an axe would be a good way." He grinned at her, proud that such a simple thing could make her so happy. "Sure, I'll take you by the District 6 station after we get done."

She ran off to get the equipment. Booth met Zach's smile. Seems he had made two squints happy. Man, how could the girl not realize how bad Zach had it for her?

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"Let's see if I've got this straight," said Brennan. "The water in this town smells terrible, and is testing positive for organic matter? What makes them think it's human?"

Booth pulled a piece of paper out of the inside of his suit coat with one hand, steering the SUV with the other, and handed it to his partner. "This boy has been missing for a few weeks, and that's why we're here. To find out for sure. It's a little difficult to get into the water tower. I sincerely doubt that a raccoon got in there."

"Then how would a teenage boy get in there?" asked Zach.

"There have been sediments turning up that shouldn't have been able to get in the tower. It's possible that the outside of the tank has been breached," said Casey, looking over the file.

"But if there's a hole in the water tower, wouldn't these people know it?" said Booth. "I mean, water pouring out would be a definite clue."

"Well," said Casey, "chances are that the water tower isn't completely full, and if the hole is near the top there would be no way to know without actually being up there."

They pulled up in front of a high water tank, blocked off by police tape. "This is it," said Booth. "End of the line, everybody out."

The FBI agent and three scientists got out of the SUV. Casey opened the back hatch. "That's gonna be a fun climb."

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Booth wiped the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his t-shirt. Before making the climb, he had left both his suit jacket and dress shirt in his vehicle. He was very careful to watch where he put his feet. The very top of the tower was only slightly rounded, giving them a little room to move, but it was enough to make them all nervous.

All except Casey. She seemed to be having the time of her life. Zach had told her three times to be careful, Booth had told her twice, and Brennan had even told her once. She had found the hole immediately, tapping around it to see how far back the structural integrity was compromised, then marked the unsafe area with chalk. It was roughly a third of the top of the tank. Prior to their arrival, the tank had been drained, and a crew was currently trying to get the access hatch on the side opened. Finally, they gave up.

"Sorry, guys." They called up to Booth. "It's corroded shut."

"So, what does that mean?" Booth shouted back. "How do we get in?"

The guy below shrugged. "Beats me."

"Same way our victim got in?" suggested Casey.

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"Funny," the girl remarked. "I don't recall volunteering!" She was secured into a climbing harness secured to a rope. "I mean, you're the big, bad FBI agent. Why don't you go?"

Booth shrugged casually. "I'd be useless down there. Gotta be someone with scientific credentials, and I need Bones up here with me. That leaves you and Zach. You want to make him rappel into an empty water tower after a body? You're certainly lighter, and the more athletic of the two."

Casey looked at Zach, and they seemed to be communicating with their eyes. Finally, she shook her head. "No, I'll go."

"Good girl," said Booth, putting a helmet with a light on her head and fastening the chin strap. He tapped the helmet lightly, and walked away.

"Zach, Come here!" Casey said before they started to lower her down. He leaned close, and she whispered in his ear.

"Okay," he said seriously. "I will. Be careful." Just like Booth, he tapped her helmet and walked away. Booth had done it as what seemed like a sign of encouragement, so it seemed like the thing to do.

Booth and the sheriff lowered her down as Zach inspected the pulley rig they were using. Satisfied that it was stable and strong enough to hold her weight, he stepped back and let the stronger men do their jobs. Dr. Brennan stood beside him. "What did she say?" she asked her assistant. "She told me to check over the equipment. Which I did, and it looks structurally sound."

"She was running around here like she was on amphetamines twenty minutes ago, now she's worried about the structural stability of the equipment?"

Zach shrugged, and told his mentor the truth. "She's not bothered by heights, but she's claustrophobic. She could handle falling from here with less fear than she could being stuck in there."

"Oh," she replied.

The radio buzzed as Casey started talking from inside. "There's definitely a body, and it's definitely human. Most likely male, although that's more from the clothes than anything else. I can't do much more from in here, it's in too bad a shape. Send down a body bag and the Stokes basket and I'll get it ready to come up."

"Can you get it by yourself, or should I push Zach in the hole?" Booth asked.

"That's ok," Casey replied wryly. "I can manage."

"Is that going to be your new way to get her to go along with whatever you say? Make threats toward Zach?" asked Brennan. "Isn't that a little…mean?"

Booth shrugged. "Maybe. Okay, yeah, but it's fun. And she's tough, she can take it." Brennan was still looking at him with that look that clearly said that he hadn't made his case yet. "She knows I'm kidding."

"Okay," her staticky voice came over the radio. "Scene's photographed, body's packed up and in the basket. Toss the end of another rope down here, and I'll fix it so you can pull it up."

"Why don't you just use yours?" Booth asked. "We'll throw it back."

"Lets just get her another one," said Zach.

"You want to climb down the million steps on that ladder to get another one?" Asked Booth.

Zach looked down the ladder. "It's only 164 rungs. And I guess, if I need to."

Booth sighed. "No, we have another one. But we'll still have to unhook hers from the pulley rig."

"But-"

"Zach, what aren't you telling me? You aren't just being a worried big brother, are you? 'Cause that would be really irritating!"

"Booth, give him a break!" demanded Brennan, exasperated. "Casey's claustrophobic! She doesn't want to give up her only way out!"

"What's going on?" asked Casey "Are you guys still there? You didn't leave me here, did you?"

'Shit,' Booth thought. "Why didn't someone say something sooner?"

"I just found out," said Brennan.

"She didn't want me to tell anyone," said Zach. "She thought it would…I don't know…look weak or something."

"IS ANYONE THERE?" Casey demanded through the radio.

"Yeah, right here!" answered Booth. "Casey, listen to me, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to throw you down another rope, and you fix it on the basket. I'm going to have to unhook your rope from the pulley, but Zach will tie it to the top of the ladder until I can get the body out. Then we'll get you out, okay?"

"Yeah," she said. "Zach?"

Booth handed him the radio. "I'm here."

"I told you not to tell them!"

Zach turned red. He was in trouble when she got out, he knew it. "I'm sorry. I told Dr. Brennan, because she asked me a direct question and you know I can't lie well, especially to her, then she told Booth."

The sheriff turned to Booth. "Did he even take a breath during that?"

"Geniuses," said Booth. "They've surpassed the need for oxygen."

The sheriff wasn't sure what that meant, so he shut up.

"It's okay, Zach. Just get on with it."

Booth tossed the end of the second rope into the hole, and quickly untied Casey's rope. Brennan saw him, and said, "Shouldn't you wait until she's done and knows what you're doing?"

Booth shrugged. "Just sparing her the fear of knowing her line is untied. She'll ask, and we'll say its already done. Then she doesn't have to worry about it."

Zach smiled as Booth handed him the rope. "That's a good idea."

"I'd accept that as a compliment if you didn't sound so surprised!"

Just then there was a violent crash as the area surrounding the hole caved in, taking the rig with it. It was followed closely by a scream as dilapidated metal crashed down around Casey.

"Casey? Casey, are you there?" Booth asked urgently into the radio.

Zach's heart sank almost to his feet as he scrambled to the edge of the newer, larger hole. "Casey!" he yelled, not bothering with the radio.

"I'm okay," she said, coughing at the metal flakes and rust rose into a cloud around her. "And the body is safe."

"Who cares about the body? Are you hurt?!"

"No," she said. "Well, maybe a little bumped around, but generally ok. Radio's shot, though." She paused, and then finished, trying not to sound like a scared little kid. "It's going to be hard to get us out now, isn't it?"

Zach had no idea what to say, how to comfort her. Then he realized he was still holding her rope. He turned back to Booth. "I've got her rope. Can we get her out?"

Booth took stock of the people he had on top of the tower, then knelt beside Zach around the edge of the hole. "Casey, here's what we're going to do. By some act of God, we already unhooked your line before we lost the rig. So we still have your rope. We're going to try to pull you up. Can you finish tying the other one on the body? Bring the other end up with you, and once you're safe, we'll pull it up. Got it?" Zach looked at him gratefully.

"Okay," said Casey. "It's tied. I'm ready."

Booth stood up. "Gonna need all of you," he said, looking around him. Zach handed him part of the rope behind him. Brennan got a hold behind Booth, and the sheriff got behind her.

"Hey, how sharp is the edge of the hole?" Zach asked.

"Too late to care, Zach," said Booth. "Pull!" They pulled hard, and in a matter of moments, Casey grabbed hold of the edge and helped them pull her up. Wordlessly, she hands the second rope to Zach and climbs shakily down the ladder to the lower level of the tower.

As badly as Zach wanted to go after her, he knows he can't leave until the body is up. It's a lot heavier than Casey, it was even before it bloated and absorbed water, and they needed him. It was a struggle, though, and as they were pulling it up, Casey realized that they were in trouble, and climbed back up to the top. Without a word, she slipped around in front of Zach and pulled hard on the rope. In no time, they had the corpse up on the top. Still pale, and a little shaky, Casey asked something they all should have figured out sooner. "So, how in the Hell are we going to get this down from here?"

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Casey tried to act normal on the way back to the lab, as Booth spent the whole drive complaining about having the body in the back of his SUV. Due to a little confusion, the other FBI unit on the scene was a Ford Focus, and way too small to haul a body in. And since he had to take a carload of squints back to the Jeffersonian anyway…

Zach, meanwhile, was in agony. Casey was barely speaking to anyone, and he was sure she was pissed at him for spilling her secret. He had kept it to himself when Booth was going to take her to jail, why couldn't he have kept his mouth shut today? Unable to just sit still, he reached between the front seats and turned on the radio. He quickly tuned it to a country station, and sat back. The song was called "If You're Going Through Hell" by a man named Rodney Adkins. He knew Casey had it on her iPod, and she managed a smile for him.

"Excuse me," said Booth. "Did I say you could touch my radio?"

"Why do you complain so much?" Brennan asked. "I mean, I know you love this song. You're just upset that Zach thought to turn the radio on and you didn't. Are you going to start urinating on the tires before we get in?"

"If I thought it would do any good!" he stated. "Is this even my car anymore? Zach's setting the radio, there's a corpse in the cargo space, maybe I SHOULD piss on the tires!"

Casey covered a giggle, and met Zach's pitiful look with a smile. She just couldn't stay mad at him.

He sighed and sat back, content. His stomach stopped turning somersaults in his abdomen.