Chapter Five: Fate

"Lisbon? Come on now, hurry up." Jane turned around to see her lagging behind with her phone to her ear.

"We'll check it out." She ended the call looking irritated.

"That was Cho, you know it's really a miracle they weren't all killed. Rigsby, Agent Booth and Detective Beckett, they could all be buried down there... but that's not why he called. Agent Dunham's gone missing. She and Broyles had left the rescue site, presumably to work on security issues. When her partner went to find her, he discovered Broyles had been knocked on the head, and she was gone. Port security is on it, but I think we should canvas the terminals, see if we can find out anything."

"What's happened with that cylinder?" Jane stopped abruptly, causing Lisbon to run into him.

"Good question. During the seismic event, both Van Pelt and Cho described it like something out of a movie, lights flashing, ear shattering noises and the ground shaking and rolling. When the dust settled, it was gone."

"Gone? Where?"

"That's what Broyles wants to know." Lisbon started walking, leaving Jane behind. "Come on now, hurry up." There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

When Van Pelt had called, she was fresh from the rescue and the subsequent adrenalin high, and she rattled on with excitement.

"Yeah Boss, it was awesome, Dr. Brennan and Castle are in pretty good shape for being buried under that building, they're waiting to be airlifted out, but the terminal is a mess and it's been impossible to get the Med-Vac in, they're clearing a space for them now. Agent Booth and Detective Beckett haven't left their sides, talk about devotion, and Cho and Peter Bishop, they were amazing, I don't think I'll ever forget seeing Wayne being pulled up out of that hole with Mr. Castle on his back. Karen the rescue supervisor, told me she had never worked with such an incredible group, she's not sure anyone else could have pulled this off!"

Lisbon hadn't been able to ask many questions, the young CBI agent was too hyped up, instead she called Jane and they left immediately to return to the airport.

This time, Jane hurried to catch up with Lisbon, as she headed toward the TSA checkpoint and into the terminal. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, he might be the one with impressive insights and abilities into a person's behavior, but she knew he was keeping something to himself, he was hiding something.

They walked through the terminal and saw Peter Bishop arguing with a man from Homeland Security, Lisbon thought the Agent looked confused, but on second glance, he looked useless and Peter Bishop was enforcing these feelings ten fold.

"Mr. Bishop, Agent Cho called me." Lisbon saw he was exhausted and tormented and she did her best to look reassuring. "We'd like to help, can you bring us up to date?"

Peter dismissed the DHS agent and calmed himself with a deep breath, he was wary of the CBI, but knew his friends were few and far between. "I went to find her, but I found Broyles, he had been hit with something like a stun gun and fell, hitting his head. There were no witnesses and no one has seen her." Peter rubbed his face with his hands, as if it would bring clarity. He knew that Olivia was strong and capable, but he also knew there were strange and dangerous forces at work.

"Mr. Bishop," Lisbon inquired gently. "In addition to Agent Dunham's disappearance, I understand the cylinder is gone as well. Do you think this is related?"

Jane scoffed, and his scornful expression wasn't lost on Peter and he glared at him.

Lisbon gave Jane an admonishing look. "Okay, let's not play games here, if you know something, anything, come clean. I don't think any of us are feeling all that patient."

"Not me. I don't play games." He raised his hands defensively, his tone mocking. Jane liked being one up in every situation, but when he realized that Peter Bishop saw right through him and could knock his head off quite easily, he reconsidered his position. "What do you know about a middle aged, white male, medium height, bald, wearing an old fashioned gray suit?"

Peter didn't even try to hide his feelings. "What about him, have you seen him?"

Lisbon intervened by placing her hand on Peter's arm. "Maybe you should tell us what you know." She suggested. "Maybe we could both be forthcoming with each other." She gave Jane a stern look.

Peter, his defenses down, blinked slowly before speaking. "The man you described, we call him The Observer. He shows up at certain scientific related events, what we call The Pattern. Don't ask me to explain, even if I could, I've been sworn to secrecy. I had an encounter with him when I first started working with Olivia, and yes, it had to do with that cylinder." Peter distinctly remembered the bizarre interaction with the bald headed man, who had literally been inside his head.

"Is he dangerous? We can put his description out, see if we can't pick him up for questioning." Lisbon added, taking her phone from her pocket.

"Teresa, it won't do any good." Jane interrupted her.

"What? And why is that?" Lisbon looked at the two men and the invisible dialogue they shared.

Peter crossed his arms in front of him and acknowledged Jane with a nod. "He's right, the Observer is a ghost, you don't find him, he finds you." He narrowed his eyes at Jane. "Olivia knew you were keeping information to yourself. What aren't you telling us?"

Jane looked at him with more than trepidation. "I think I've seen this man before."

Castle's face was as bruised and battered as his body, both legs and his neck were immobilized and he had been given an I.V. drip of fluids and morphine. He held Beckett's phone to his ear, his hands and tongue felt like they were covered with woolen mittens. "Alexish, sweeheart, tell your granmuther I'm gonna to be fine… Thas right, Kate is here. I toll you, I'm in good hans... I love ya both." Castle smiled into the phone, he looked at it with loving albeit hazy eyes before Beckett reached over and rescued it.

"Better living through chemicals, right Castle?" She chuckled to herself. "You're really lucky, the doctor says you may not even need to have surgery, you have a fractured tibia, a couple of broken ribs and the face of a prize fighter."

"It dozen even hurt." His eyelids drooped and his words ran together. "Great-stuff-for-my-book."

"Just how are you going to incorporate this into your next book?"

"I dunno? Nikki Heat… swingin' from rafters, in a harness?"

"Castle!" Beckett scolded, but her face was lit up with humor.

He gave her a goofy grin. "Yah, gotta keep it PG… my readers will love it."

She gave him a sunny smile, and reached for his hand.

He looked at her and his grin wilted. "Kate…" His eyes became glassy with emotion. "Thank you."

"It's okay, I'll let you make it up to me." Her voice was soft.

"How so?" He closed his eyes and drift off.

Beckett, touched his cheek with the back of her hand, "I'll figure out something." She murmured.

She watched him sleep, and did her best to ignore the longing she felt inside herself. A week ago they had been work colleagues, he was a writer doing research and looking for ideas, and she was a cop, not girlfriend material for someone like Castle. Neither could deny a spark had ignited between them, but Castle acted uncharacteristically cautious, and somehow this made Beckett feel exposed and insecure. Now, at this very moment, it seemed destiny was determined to bring them together.

She laughed at herself, destiny? Must be what fatigue and near death does to you, she thought, but when she looked up and saw Booth sitting next to Brennan, she remembered.

"Listen Beckett, you… me… we don't want to walk away from this without saying we did everything we could to bring them back… and we will bring them back."

"You're right, and when they are back, I'm not going to forget we had this conversation."

"I don't think I could forget, even if I tried."

Beckett looked over at Booth and it felt like she were watching events through a window. She overheard them talking, and it was all too familiar.

"They still don't know what caused the collapse, it's almost like the building was sucked down into the ground." The tired lines on Booth's face were dusted with grime, but his heart felt light.

The medic had hooked Brennan up to an I.V., closed the cut on her arm with suture tape, put her ankle on ice and cleaned the abrasions on her face. Booth sat down next to her, took her hand and played with her fingers. The color had returned to her face, and although she was covered with bits and pieces of the building that had collapsed on her, he thought she looked beautiful.

Brennan watched their fingers intertwine. "Booth, I knew you wouldn't let me down, I knew you would come for us."

"Well I am Special Agent Seeley Booth." He charmed her with a little smile.

"Your actions were heroic." She was her usual blunt and unaffected self.

"I did what I needed to do…and I didn't do it alone. Karen, the rescue leader and Kate Beckett were both on top of their game, and Rigsby, his instincts kicked in, he's the real hero." He hesitated for just a moment. "I also asked for some help from him." He pointed upward, a gesture she had seen before.

"You mean you prayed?" Brennan's voice wavered ever so slightly.

He gave her the warmest of smiles. "It's a no brainer, I always ask for a little extra when the time is right. Maybe this is that cosmic scorecard keeping track."

"Anthropologically speaking, prayer is a ritual that gives comfort, a sense that we can control, what in fact is beyond our control, a way to explain our misfortunes and…"

"And your point is?"

"That I appreciate your belief in God, and when you feel the need, you ask him or her for help." She looked almost bashful.

"It's a partner thing." He reassured her, brushing a stray lock of hair away from her face. The way she looked at him said more than words could convey, and both knew something had changed between them.

When Booth finally looked up, he saw Beckett watching, and a moment of understanding passed between them.

The first thing she noticed was the persistent, white noise of voices, thrumming in her head. When her body stopped tingling, she felt the hard chair against her back and the edge of a table pushed against her abdomen. When she lifted her head, she saw the unexpected gaze of the Observer boring into her. As the fog cleared out of her mind and her senses returned, she looked around and saw she was sitting at a small table next to a picture window. People had gathered, looking out, some pointed and looked frightened, others chattered among themselves, and a few took pictures. She followed their line of sight and saw they were focused across the airport runway, gawking at the surviving half of a building and the gigantic hole in the ground next to it.

Olivia felt detached from her surroundings, like she was encased in a bubble, but the aroma of french fries helped her to realize she was in the food court at the other end of the airport.

"What do you want?" The sound of her own voice echoed inside of her. "Why are you here?"

The Observer cocked his head slightly, he gave her a probing look and he appeared to be perplexed at the sight of the woman in front of him.

"Answer me, I asked you what you want, and why are you here?"

"The departure was on schedule." He spoke with little feeling and ignored her demand for information. "It is important, the bond between them matters."

"What was on schedule? The cylinder? Who and what are you talking about?"

"We have been watching you. You were once known as Olive and you were quite small."

"Why?" Olivia hissed.

"You are also important, your future matters." He answered her with little emotion.

"Why did you bring me here? Surely not to tell me that I'm important?" She spat out the words, she was angry and confused. "What do you want from me?"

"We have seen the consequences of those who interfere. The man, Walter Bishop, his actions have created consequences. Now his son, Peter has done the same, only you can make it right." The Observer blinked at her. "I have said too much."

"You've said nothing! What consequences? Whose side are you on?" Olivia shouted, but the volume of her voice never rose above a whisper.

"Agent Dunham, fate does not take sides." He took a book from his brief case and handed it to her. "I believe this will help you understand."

Olivia took the leather bound book, it had a patina that indicated it had been well handled. "What is this?" She opened the cover and looked at the first page, it was the image of a young boy, maybe three or four years old, he had sandy brown hair and his smile made his eyes crinkled up. Olivia studied the image and felt overwhelmed with emotion, the boy looked familiar, but she wasn't sure from where.

The Observer who stared at her quizzically.

"I don't understand." She seemed almost intimidated.

"You must keep looking." He suggested.

She turned the page and it contained another image, this one made her heart skip a beat. It was Peter sitting cross legged on the ground, he held the young boy in his arms and had a smile on his face that melted her heart. The boy leaned over and had a handful of Olivia's blonde hair in his fist and she leaned into him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. It was a family portrait and a glimpse into the future.