A/n: Okay terribly sorry for the MAJOR delay. School and time have been conspiring against me lately.
Well anyway, here we go, I wanted to dedicate this chapter to my best friend, Julia F: . Also special thanks to Julia L. Luv ya guys!
Also thanks for the few but lovely reviews. I am slightly disappointed seeing as so many people have this on alert but don't take the time to review it. I hope for a little bit more this time guys!!! (see below for more)
And now on with the story (see chapter 1 for info/rating/disclaimer/ blah, blah, blah, yadah, yadah, yadah…)
Chapter 2:
"So what now? You think you have the right to interrupt me whenever we have a case?" Brennan growled through her teeth, looking out the window.
"Well, yes. If Cullen orders both your and my immediate attention on a case," he said 'immediate' more forcefully," then I do have the right. And since when did your personal life become more important then your job, Bones."
She folded her arms across her chest, grinding her teeth," Don't call me Bones."
"You know most women would consider this to be a compliment, Bones," he emphasized the nickname.
"Not when you know the woman hates it," she glared at him.
Pause.
"And by the way, my job is important to me, it's just this really could have waited an hour. Or they could have just sent the skeleton to the Jeffersonian."
"The crime scene is not at the lab. And even if I hadn't wanted to interrupt your little rendezvous with Dick431, I really couldn't have done otherwise," he chuckled before realizing he defiantly had chosen the wrong set of words.
" You wanted to intervene Booth?!" she asked incredulously, stunned, not to mention shocked and appalled!
He stammered looking for the right words to make his mistake better, but instead he made it worse," Well, I just think David is not the right guy for you," he clenched the steering wheel tight with his hands.
"And what, you are?"
"No," 'Liar' his conscience hissed at him, "I'm not saying that, Bones, I'm just implying you deserve better."
She glared at him, then had come to a conclusion, "You're jealous," she said simply.
"What? No I'm not," he lied through his teeth, clutching the steering wheel tighter his knuckles turning a shade of white.
"Yes you are!"
"You know what Bones, we're almost here and you still know nothing about the case," he tried to divert her attention on the more important matter at hand.
"Right," she said, her business was why she was here in the first place.
He grabbed a yellowish file folder from the backseat and tossed it onto Temperance' lap. She scanned over it, as he elaborated, "A married couple had recently moved into a house which was a fixer up-er. Well they were in for a surprise when a skeleton popped out of their wall when they tried to knock down a wall in their living room. Panicking, they called the police, who called us and we called you for your assistance."
She nodded to assure him that she was following.
He continued, "FBI's forensics team is already on sight-"
She snapped her head around and protected her bones, "They better not lay a finger on my bones! They could be compromising evidence!"
"Don't worry Bones, I gave them specific orders to stay away from the bones. And as I was saying, before I was interrupted, your team of squints is also on their way. Boy you're high-strung today," he muttered.
"Well maybe I wouldn't be if I had the extra requested hour."
"Bones don't start again!"
"Fine. Does the family know anything?"
"Of course they don't know anything. They're suspects. But no, we haven't interrogated them yet. We don't want to start before you have gotten a chance to examine the remains."
She nodded again. The rest of the ride was enjoyed in awkward silence.
As they pulled up into the driveway, they say the large group of officers and agents concealing the house it's self. The many flashing red and blue light were irritating to the eye as the partners purposefully walked towards the scene, though Brennan lingered a moment to search for her team, while Booth ducked under the flashy yellow 'Caution: Crime Scene!' tape, disappearing into the crowd. She saw the rather large truck but no sign of any of them. Like Booth, she ducked under the tape to find them, only to get stopped by an officer's hand and strong southern accented voice, "I'm sorry there little lady. This is a crime scene, nothing for your pretty eyes to see here."
"Nothing I haven't seen before, I'm sure," she said firmly, pulling the yellow plastic up, stretching it slightly as she did, only to get stopped by the same rough hands. The officer gave her a confused look, as she impatiently stood there before him, eagerly waiting entry to the house. 'Is she an officer?', he wondered, 'Naw, dressed to nicely. A reporter maybe?'
Bones broke his trail of thought, "I'm Dr. Temperance, the forensic anthropologist the FBI sent for," she spoke, mildly agitated by the fact this short police officer wouldn't let her through.
He chuckled, "I sure don't know what that is but I'm sure have nothing to do here. But if you're so sure, you'll have to show me ID."
She rumedged through her purse: keys, pens, rubber gloves and several other various items but no ID. She swore under her breath, remembering she had left her driver's license and Jeffersonian security card on her desk.
Booth looked over his shoulder ignoring what his fellow agent had to say, to see Bones arguing with an officer. He quickly made his way over to them, knowing that anyone who got her mad today would have gotten more then they would have bargained for and he'd be the one to blame.
"Ok Bones, time to go to your bones," he said pulling her under the tape and leading her towards the door with a gentle shove. Then turning back to the officer he growled, "Little? I think not!" and he stalked off following his partner in.
"Dr. Brennan," Zach came scuttling over, "Here's your lab coat and bag. Agent Booth called the lab and told me to bring your things to the scene as soon as possible."
"Thanks Zach," she said, accepting her necessary things. She took off her jacket, while Booth automatically took it from behind her and carried it gently folded over his arm. She went to bend over the remains that sat neatly tied to a chair in a half broken-down wall. Bricks lay broken all around the floor and a dust never settled. It just lingered in the air with a rather unpleasant stench.
"Zach, have you started taking pictures of the remains?"
"Yes Dr. Brennan. The pictures have already been sent back to the lab for development and archiving."
She nodded in approval while snapping on a pair of rubber gloves on and approached the victim for further examination.
"Female, in her mid to late twenties. Probably Caucasoid can be assumed by the very prominent nasal spine and S-shaped zygomaticomaxillary Suture. It seems her frontal bone and occipital bone have suffered damage by a blunt object. May or may not be cause of death," she spoke crisply into her tape recorder and stood up to get a better view from a different angle. She tilted her head, a few tendrils of auburn hair falling in her face. Booth observed how gracefully she moved. He had to admit, she was really beautiful and he could understand why so many men were after her, but none of them, especially not David, could ever be enough for her. She deserved something that no man could ever be. His partner was really something special; she was "Amazing."
"What did you say Booth?"
He turned away from her, heat rising into his cheeks. Had he really just said that out loud?
"Um," he scrambled for an excuse to cover his slip of word, "It's just amazing how, um, nice the uh, wallpaper is. Yeah I love the, "he looked at the walls: yellow with a small flower pattern in red, definitely not the best choice of wallpaper. He felt like slapping himself! Obvious much! "Yeah the flower pattern is just, just beautiful," he forced out, making a face at how pathetic and lame his words were. She cracked a smile and shook her head. He was so flustered. 'Kinda cute- no not cute. Booth is not cute. David, your boyfriend is cute, not Booth'. She shook her head to expel all thoughts and focused back on her work and spoke once more into the recorder: "Both her radius and ulna of her right arm are shattered, cause is still unknown," she lowered her view to the legs and noticed that the lower leg and foot bones where missing. Upon further examination she noted, "It seems her left tibia and fibula along with her entire foot has been severed from her patella and femur."
She turned off the recorder and turned to Zach, "Were the missing remains found at the site?"
"No Dr. Brennan. They were not found with the rest of the remains."
"Ok, can you see to it that the rest of the remains get sent to the Jeffersonian?"
"Yes Dr. Brennan," and he hurried off to some men in Jeffersonian suits.
"Booth, it seems there is a leg out there missing it's body, but I'll still be able to get the preliminary reports to you tomorrow morning, the very latest."
"I know you will. But Bones, promise me you won't stay in the lab to long," he pleaded handing her, her coat. Worry was evident in his eyes.
She sighed, "Yes, I promise. Are you all ready to go?"
"Ready when you are," he flashed her his charm smile with a little wink aimed at her. The mood was lightened when she gave him a smile back as they walked back to the black vehicle…
TBC…
A/n: Yeah, there you go! Your Christmas present. Review if you want more. Let's see…16 alerts…I'd say about ten reviews is enough to get me motivated to write faster, but let's just say your not getting more before then either ;oP
I have to say I was very disappointed first chapter at the minimal feedback I got but a big Thanks to:
CandleInTheWind: aka Jule! Mein liebstes Mädel. Yes, I think you know where this is headed but it has nothing to do with the fact you read part of the manuscript, but let me tell you, there will definitely be a few hurdles 'till then ;o) Hope you enjoyed your trip for which you had to leave us two days early grr…I'm jealous see you soon…
sheBONES: Yes very motivational, thank you!
Audrey anon., Moonbebe, tangoing-mango-addict and gategirl7 thanks for your kind input too!!
-Kathi-