I just wanted to say that one story will be the equivalent of one case, with added scenes that typically won't be seen in an episode. Also, for anyone reading my Christmas Countdown stories, I am still writing them each day, but I have decided to wait until Christmas to post them, so they will all be posted on one day. And a warning: I was listening to music while writing this, and the playlist was greatly varied, so the mood sometimes changes quite abruptly, and I really couldn't figure out how to keep the mood the same throughout the chapter without rewriting the entire thing.
Rating: T for the chapter, because of implied violence and dead bodies
Disclaimer: I do own Bones. I also own all of the unicorns, lollipops and candy/sugar of the world (I don't actually like candy, though…). And one day I shall rule the world! Mwahaha! Now, I must feed my pet platypus. He lives in my bath. Don't tell my mother. Did you know that platypuses are poisonous? Wait, did VNM say that in an episode? I am not delusional. I rant, but I am not delusional. Even the voices in my head agree with me... Fine, you win. I do not own Bones. All characters (except for Isaac Brennan Booth, Neal Edmund Kensington IV (aka Pretentious Snob, aka Rebecca's boyfriend), the staff and students of The Ambrose-Hawley School (Except Parker), the Raimondi family, the Jansen family, the Cantwell family, and the Aslan family) belong to HH and SN and all those awesome people.
Chapter Two: Strawberry Fields Forever
Temperance Brennan walked into the building housing the Hodgins' apartment, followed by Booth, who was carrying Isaac. They walked together into the elevator, and rode together in a comfortable silence. Tempe couldn't help but remember last winter, when she and Booth had gotten stuck in an elevator during a blizzard. That had been… interesting. As the couple stood together, Booth wondered aloud.
"Why is it that the same song always plays in elevators?" He gazed at Bones, wondering if she knew an anthropological reason. He was surprised when she began to laugh at the randomness of the question. He became slightly indignant, saying, "It was a serious question!" But he couldn't be mad at her for long, and soon joined in on her laughter. They both stopped laughing, and composed themselves long enough to walk out of the elevator. And straight into Hodgins.
"Dr B! Booth! You're dropping Zak off with Ange? Here, I'll open the door for you." Hodgins quickly unlocked the apartment door, and Bones walked in with Isaac. Booth and Hodgins stayed outside. Booth looked at Hodgins.
"What did you do, bug man?" He asked
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Hodgins turned quickly away from Booth.
"Hey, Ange!" Brennan called out, seeing her friend sitting on the couch. Angela turned around.
"Hey, sweetie," she responded, standing up. Seeing Isaac, she reached over to take him from Bones' arms. "And hello, Mini Studly." She grinned down at the sleeping baby.
"Angela, I'm not sure I like the idea of you calling my six month old son 'Studly'."
"Relax, Bren. I'll let you call my 14 month old son studly," Ange grinned at the expression on her friend's face, then paused, "Come on, we better go check on the boys."
Temperance laughed, "I'm sure leaving them alone for a minute will not pose an imminent threat to society."
Ange smirked at her. "How long have you worked with Jack, again?"
"Good point." Brennan immediately got a worried look on her face, "There aren't any explosives in the hallway, are there?"
The two women glanced at each other, and almost ran to the doorway, shocked to see the two men standing there, amiably, with no sign of immediate danger.
"Well, that's a new one," commented Angela drily, "Alright, go find some rotting corpses and insects and dirt. I'll babysit." The three other people glanced at her. "I cannot believe I just said that."
"Thanks, Ange." Tempe and Booth walked away, followed by Hodgins, who was muttering under his breath.
"It isn't dirt."
"Of course not, bug man."
"Dr Hodgins, could you just shut up about the dirt for once?"
The two men stared at her.
"Well, somebody's grumpy today."
45 minutes later they arrived at the crime scene. It was a large park in a suburb near the other side of DC.
"Hey. I know where we are. This is near Rebecca's house. I used to take Parker here when Rebecca decided she didn't want me to have him for the weekend."
Hodgins read the sign for the park. "Strawberry Fields," he raised his eyebrows at Booth, "If there are any unexplained walruses or submarines in this case, I'm out."
Bones looked at them. "What if there are depressed skull fractures with silver particulates in them?"
"I don't even know what I'd do."
"Okay," Booth clapped his hands together, "Let's stop this Beatles fan club and go look at a decomposing corpse."
Bones laughed at the absurdity of the statement, and her and Hodgins followed him to where a blond police officer was waiting for them.
"Officer Eric Wyatt," he stuck his hand out to be shaken, only to have all three walked straight past him, "Okay then."
Booth turned around. "Special Agent Seeley Booth. These are Doctors Temperance Brennan and Jack Hodgins of the Jeffersonian. Dr Brennan is the forensic anthropologist. Dr Hodgins is an entomolgist."
"I would like to see the body now," spoke up Bones.
"Of course," replied Officer Wyatt, "Right this way."
As they walked, Booth began to question Wyatt.
"Who discovered the body?"
"It was some neighborhood kids," replied Wyatt, "Yakup Aslan, Ellen Jansen, and the Cantwell twins, Sara and Tyler."
"Why were they in the woods at 1:00 in the morning?"
"They're teenagers, Agent Booth. They live close by, across the street."
"Are there any other neighbors who may have seen something?"
"Well, the Raimondi's property backs up to the park, as does the Stinson's. The Aslan's, Jansen's, and Cantwell's live across the street from them."
"The teenagers you mentioned found the body. You said their families all live across the street. Do the Raimondi's have children?"
"Yes, but their oldest daughter is only eleven. She wouldn't have been with the teenagers."
"Okay. Thank you." Booth began to walk away, but noticed the officer's green eyes were still on him, "Yes, Officer?"
"I was just wondering why you didn 't ask about the Stinson's kids," replied Wyatt.
"Because I know the Stinson's," he walked over to Bones, "Alright then. Bones! Whattaya got for me?"
Brennan looked down at the bones. "Bone length and teeth suggests early teen, approximately 10-14 years of age. The victim was too young to determine gender until we do a closer examination of the bones," she paused, her blue eyes flashing, but he couldn't tell if it was anger or sadness. Or both.
"What else, Bones?"
"There is evidence of the victim being abused. There are multiple fractures, all in different stages of remodeling, in almost all of the bones, including the skull." She looked at Booth.
"Maybe the kid was just a klutz," Booth suggested, knowing it wasn't true. Bones looked at him. "Yeah, I know. We'll find whoever did this, Bones."
"I know. We always do," she turned towards Officer Wyatt, "I need all of the bones and the surrounding soil transported to the Jeffersonian. And whatever samples Dr Hodgins needs."
"Sure." He turned away and started ordering the techs to do what she had requested.
So was it good? For any Beatles fans reading this, I hope you enjoyed the references. My friend was reading this, and she started laughing, saying it sounded like a conversation I would be having with her. Also, I did research how to identify skeletons, and I think I figured it out, but if there are any actual forensic anthropologists, who actually have studied this stuff feel the need to correct me, please do so. I also just wanted to tell you that I spent about forty minutes with a thesaurus, a dictionary and the voice of my writing teacher in my head, so I hope this is descriptive enough. And I finally got to use amiably in a sentence. Anyway, I welcome criticism, as long as it doesn't make me want to crawl into a dark cave and never come out. And of course I love positive comments; they make me all warm and fluffy. So, please review.
