A/n... I do apologize for the delay with this chapter. Thanks Bookwormlady for the poke. I needed that. xo

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Chapter 2

Brennan pulled her phone from her pocket and took a few steps away from the men to answer her ringing phone. She hoped it was Booth and his disappearance was all some misunderstanding. Some excuse like he had been drinking with the boys, as they say, and lost track of time or something along those lines. Brennan knew that this wasn't the case. That wasn't like Booth.

She was surprised by the person on the other end.

It was Rebecca. She sounded distressed.

"Hi Temperance, I don't have long... I need you to do something for me...."

"I... uh... sure. Anything." Brennan was surprised again. Rebecca had never asked her for anything before.

"Can you pick up Parker from school? It's kind of an emergency... Seeley has you listed as an alternative contact... They'll let you take him..." The woman's voice sounded strained and, even Doctor Brennan, with her limited abilities in empathic matters could pick up that something was wrong.

"Of course I will, Rebecca. Is everything okay?" The anthropologist was a little shocked that Booth had her listed at Parker's school.

"I have to go...I'm sorry... but one more thing?"

"Yes, anything"

"Can you pick him up right away? As soon as you can get there..." Rebecca's voice was cut off and the phone disconnected.

Brennan clicked the phone shut and turned and walked back towards Agent Donovan and Sweets. They both looked at her with the same inquisitive expression.

"I have to go. Something has come up. I'll need a ride back to the Jeffersonian."

"Is everything okay Doctor Brennan?" Sweets picked up on the masked look of urgency on his friend's face.

"I have to go. Can you take me please Agent Donovan?"

The two men looked from each other, back to the woman standing before them.

"I should wait for the forensic team to show up. They should be here within half an hour or so."

Doctor Brennan started to walk away, flipping open her phone again.

"I'll just call a cab."

Agent Donovan started after her and grabbed her shoulder to stop her. She turned back towards him, looking from the hand on her shoulder, to his face. He got the hint, and quickly removed his hand.

"No, Doctor Brennan, why don't you take my vehicle. I'll wait for the team."

She stared at him for only a moment, unsure of his motives. Booth never let her drive. Apparently that wasn't standard FBI protocol, just his. Where was he anyway? What the hell was going on?

"If you are sure, that would be great. I shouldn't be long."

Donovan dug the keys out of his pocket and handed them to her. But before he relinquished them to her, he held her hand and made her look him in the eyes.

"Booth trusts you Doctor Brennan. If he trusts you, then I do too. Are you sure everything is okay? We'll find him."

Sweets watched the interaction quietly, and saw a small tear form in the corner of the Doctor's eye.

"I don't know. I just have to go right now. I'll be in contact as soon as I can." She took the keys and turned away completely and walked down the hallway. Before she turned the corner, she turned back quickly, "Thank you Agent Donovan. I appreciate your concern."

Agent Donovan turned back to Sweets when she was gone.

"She's not so cold and unfeeling as some people say she is. My impression of her has changed drastically since our first meeting."

"No, she's not unfeeling at all. She puts on a good facade, but she feels very deeply. Especially when it comes to Booth." Sweets tried to smile, but the thought of what would happen to Doctor Brennan if something happened to Booth was a train of thought he wasn't yet ready to board. They would find him. They had the water bottle, and hopefully the forensic team from the FBI would find something else. Or it would all be some misunderstanding, and Booth would walk around the corner.

Sweets' eyes trailed down the hallway, but no one came.

"Is there something other than a partnership going on between those two?" Agent Donovan leaned against the wall, to wait for the team to show up.

"Not yet." Was all Sweets replied.

***

Doctor Brennan set herself in the driver's seat of the FBI issued SUV and adjusted the mirrors and the seat, taking a minute to get her composure. Why would Rebecca call her to pick up Parker? Was he sick, and she couldn't get there? The tone in Rebecca's voice was disturbing. Brennan felt something inside her that led her to believe that maybe Parker was in danger. This was the second strange feeling she had today. Perhaps her "gut" instinct had finally been revealed to herself. She started the vehicle and pulled away from the curb. She toggled switches until the lights and sirens came on, and smiled to herself as cars flew out of her way as she sped through the streets of DC towards Parker's school. She was outside of the school in no time at all.

She pulled into the parking lot and looked around before she got out. Nothing seemed awry. She didn't notice the man in the car across the street pull away before she left the vehicle.

He was on the phone and speeding away before he had been noticed. He was calling his Boss to let him know that the package they were hoping to acquire had been denied. The FBI was on to them. They had to come up with another plan. The car he was in peeled around the corner as Doctor Brennan exited the vehicle. The tinted windows had kept her from being identified.

Brennan walked into the school and found her way into the office, where she was surprised to see Parker sitting there, in his jacket, obviously waiting for her.

"Hi Bones. Are you here to pick me up?" Booth's son jumped up from the chair and approached her. "Is my Dad with you?"

The secretary behind the desk took in the meeting. Obviously the boy knew who she was. She interrupted before Brennan could speak and answer Parker's question.

"Are you Doctor Brennan?" With an affirmative nod from the woman standing in the office, the secretary held out a clipboard, "I just need you to sign this, confirming you were the one who picked up Parker here."

Doctor Brennan signed the form and turned back to Parker. She gave him a little smile, to which he responded with the same, and she gestured for him to leave the office first.

The two of them walked back to the SUV parked in the lot and Brennan was just a little shocked when Parker took her hand as they walked. She squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back. She helped him into the back seat and watched as he did his seat belt up. She double checked it and went back to the driver's side and started the engine.

She adjusted the rear-view mirror so that she could see the little, boy in the back seat and she kept an eye on him as they drove back to the Jeffersonian to await word from Rebecca, or anyone. They were silent for a few minutes, until Parker asked his question again.

"Is my dad at the lab?"

"No Parker." Brennan wasn't sure how much information she should reveal to Booth's son.

"Where's my mom?"

"I don't know Parker. She called and asked that I pick you up from school. Are you sick?" Her eyes met the boy's in the mirror.

"No. I'm not sick. The principal called me to the office and said there was someone coming to pick me up. I thought I was in trouble."

"You're not in trouble Parker. I have to be honest; I'm not sure why your Mom called me."

"Do you know where my Dad is?"

"No Parker. No one knows where your dad is. We can't find him, but I promise you, we will."

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep Bones. My dad says that." Parker turned towards the window and watched the world fly by.

"I agree with you both on that account, but we have found him before. I'm confident that we will this time too. With both the FBI and the Jeffersonian working on finding him, there's no chance he will be missing for very long. We're the best you know." She hoped her words were reassuring to the boy.

Doctor Brennan pulled her phone from her pocket and scrolled through until she found the number from which Rebecca called her. She dialled it and waited for Parker's mother to answer, but there was only the sound of the ringing. She waited until a reasonable amount of time had passed and then clicked the phone shut. Where was Rebecca?

"You shouldn't use your cell phone while you're driving you know. You have a four times the chance of causing an accident." The voice from the backseat startled her from her thoughts.

She had no response. She knew the data to be accurate.

"What are we going to do Bones?"

"Well, we're going to go back to the lab and wait for some evidence to be analyzed. Then we're going to find your dad."

"Is Max going to be at the lab? I like Max. He taught me fun stuff about science."

"No, Max is off visiting some old friends right now. I don't know when he'll be back. Hodgins will be there. He has recently acquired some new species of beetles. I'm sure he would be happy to show them to you." She met the boy's eyes in the mirror again, and even she noticed the glimmer in his eyes when she said that.

"Sweet. I like bugs."

"I thought you might." She smiled at Parker, and he smiled back at her. She was confident that she had distracted him enough from the situation for now.

The rest of the drive to the Jeffersonian was silent. Brennan pulled into the underground parking lot and smiled at the gate keeper. He recognized her, even though he didn't recognize the vehicle she was driving. He let her in, no questions asked. He knew that Doctor Brennan rarely conversed with those she felt were beneath her. He didn't take it personally.

They exited the vehicle and made their way to the lab proper. There didn't seem to be anyone around. Doctor Brennan led Parker to the back of the lab, where Doctor Hodgins' new office was. Both Angela and Hodgins were deep in conversation when the two entered, and Parker interrupted them when he saw the tank with the bugs. He rushed over to it and pressed his nose to the glass.

"These are so cool!" His breath steamed the glass he was so close.

Angela and Hodgins both looked from the boy to Doctor Brennan, and she waved off their questioning looks and mouthed the words 'I'll explain later'.

"They are pretty cool hey Parker. Do you know what they're called?" Hodgins made his way over to the tank to stand next to the boy.

"No." Parker waited, he knew the Bug Man would tell him.

"Well, that one over there... his name is Larry, and that one... his name is Curly..."

Parker laughed and gave Doctor Hodgins a half smile, looking very much like his father when he did so.

"Doctor Hodgins. You're funny. I meant what is their science name?"

"Sure Buddy, if you want to know, they are called Geotrupes Stercorarius. Or, more commonly, the dung beetle."

"What does dung mean?" Parker really wanted to know. Everyone else in the room tried to squelch their laughter.

"It means poop. That's what they eat." How Hodgins managed to keep a straight face, the ladies had no idea.

"That is so cool and gross." Parker followed one of the beetles with his finger as it scampered along the glass.

Angela grabbed Temperance by the arm and tried to pull her out of the office, to get some information in private. Before they left the office, Brennan turned back to Parker.

"Do you have to urinate? Or are you hungry? Do you take naps? Do you need anything?"

"Bones, I'm not a baby. I am fine." Parker didn't even take his eyes off the bugs to answer.

"Okay. I'm just stepping out with Angela here; I'll only be in the hallway if you need anything. Do you mind staying with Jack for just a few minutes...?"

"We'll be fine Bones. Doctor Hodgins was about to tell me everything about dung beetles."

Doctor Hodgins grinned at Brennan, and nodded.

The two ladies went into the hallway and walked out of earshot of the two left with the bugs.

"Seriously, Sweetie, what the hell is going on?

Temperance spent the next few minutes filling in her friend on everything that had happened from the time they had departed company earlier and how Parker had come to be in her care.

"What is happening here?" Angela asked the rhetorical question, knowing Brennan had no more answers for her.

Doctor Brennan just looked at her friend and felt the cold shiver again. She really wondered what was up with that.

Parker came out of the room and asked Bones if she would go get his backpack out of the SUV. He wanted to take notes on what Hodgins was telling him. She smiled at him and turned to go towards the vehicle.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Angela asked.

"No. I'll just be a minute. Keep him distracted will you."

Angela went back into the room with the boys and smiled when Hodgins pulled one of the bugs out of the tank and set it on Parker's hand.

***

Booth lay quietly in his prison. He heard the footsteps approaching again. Like Pavlov's dogs, his body was already being trained to associate that sound with what was about to happen. He started to shiver with the anticipation of being doused with the cold water.

Whoever was holding him captive had said nothing more to him, but returned regularly to soak him. This was the strangest torture he had ever experienced. Usually, his captors wanted some kind of information from him, but Booth was not asked a single question.

The door opened and the heavy steps entered the room. The rusty faucet squeaked and Booth braced for the shock of cold water. It hit him squarely in the face, nearly drowning him before moving along the rest of his body. The action went on for longer than usual, the confined man wondered why there was a sudden change in routine.

The water stopped, the squeak of the tap was heard again. Booth swore he could hear some shuffling, and possibly another set of footsteps, but his ears were full of water so he couldn't be sure. The door opened and he expected to be left alone again. He felt a sharp pain in his upper leg possibly from a prick from a needle.

His suspicions were confirmed when he felt himself start to grow drowsy. The door shut and silence filled the room once again. Strange lights started to flash in his eyes and before unconsciousness took him, he heard something else.

A muffled whimper.

He fought the drugs that had been injected in him, and tried to call out.

"Is someone there?" His voice sounded strange to him. Almost like it was echoing.

There were definitely some other sounds in the room that he hadn't heard there before.

"Bones? Is that you? Parker?"

Before he could fixate on the sound, everything went dark.

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To be continued...( a little quicker hopefully!)