Oh, I forgot the disclaimer. I don't own Bones, or Angel.
Author's notes: Has anyone ever noticed the abbreviation for the Brennan and Sully 'ship? BS. It's not a coincidence. :)
SHELLS
There was a knock on Brennan's office door. She looked up from her computer, blinking twice to make sure that it really was who she thought it was. "Sully?" She gestured for him to come in.
"Hey, Tempe."
"What are you doing here?" she asked. He grinned, holding up a folder.
"We…" He paused for dramatic effect. "…have a case!" Brennan blinked.
"We? Where's Booth?"
"He's on vacation with his son, didn't he tell you that?" asked Sullivan. Brennan sighed, rubbing her eyes.
"No, no—he did. I'm sorry, I'm really tired. So they paired me with you?"
"Yep. Now come on, we've got a body."
---
"I found it this morning, when I went to bring out the trash," said the store owner, leading Sullivan and Brennan to the body. "Probably the most disgusting thing I've ever seen…Burned to a crisp." He led them into an alleyway, where the stench of decomposed flesh was obvious. Upon seeing the body, Brennan stopped short, causing Sullivan to almost bump into her.
"Oh my God…" she whispered quietly.
"What, Tempe? Suddenly gone soft on us? You're supposed to be used to this sort of stuff…" said Sullivan with a chuckle.
"Oh my God," Brennan repeated, sinking onto her knees in front of the body.
"Tempe…it's just a body," said Sullivan, confused. It. Brennan mouthed the word softly. Body. "Tempe, what? What's wrong?" Sullivan was concerned. Brennan said nothing, but reached her gloved hand onto the body and removed a small object. Even half-melted from the fire, she knew exactly what it was. It was a belt buckle…shaped like an eagle.
"Oh my God," she said again. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. "Sully…" She almost choked on the words. "This is Booth."
"Tempe, no, no. This isn't Booth. Booth is on vacation with Parker. It's not possible." Brennan didn't take her eyes off of the body.
"It's him. It's his belt buckle…" She trailed off, knowing that she had no more proof than that.
"Maybe someone else had the same buckle, Tempe. You never know."
"I know," said Brennan. "This is Booth. I know…" She wanted to say it was because she felt it, she knew in her heart that this was Booth. But she couldn't say it – she couldn't bring herself to betray everything she had ever told Booth about not jumping to conclusions and not believing in that 'gut feeling'.
"Look, I'll prove it to you that this isn't Booth. Did he leave you a number where you could contact him?" asked Sullivan. Brennan shook her head.
"No…no, he didn't." She paused for a moment, realizing something. "But I have Parker's mother's number…I can find out if they're actually on vacation." She picked up her cell phone, selecting Rebecca's number from her phone book. She waited nervously as the phone rang.
"Hello?" came a female voice from the other end of the line.
"Hi, Rebecca? This is Dr. Temperance Brennan from the Jeffersonian Institution…"
"The one that works with Seeley?"
"Yeah—that's right," said Brennan. "Um…do you know where he is?"
"He and Parker were supposed to go to the lake this weekend…Bastard never showed up to pick up his own son. So don't ask me where the son-of-a-bitch goes." Brennan's stomach felt as if it had dropped out. She didn't even listen to Rebecca continue to talk, she just dropped her phone on the ground.
"He never picked up Parker," Brennan said quietly, more to herself than to anyone else. Sullivan moved to put his arms around her and console her—something Booth would have done—but she turned away. "Don't touch me," she said harshly. Taken aback by her sudden outburst, Sullivan retreated.
"We'll take the remains back to the lab," he said to the store owner. The man nodded, being quite confused, and left.
"The remains?" asked Brennan coldly. "They're not just remains, Sully, it's Booth."
"It's not him, Tempe. It's a shell. It's what he used to be."
"It's him. And he's gone," whispered Brennan.
---
Brennan stared at the remains lying on the table. It had been confirmed—it was Booth. She swallowed back tears, trying to stop herself from thinking about him. She'd never had to emotionally detach herself from a case like this…not like this. It's a shell. It's not him. She repeated it over and over again. It's just another body. But it wasn't, and she could lie to herself all she wanted but she'd never believe it.
Booth was gone.
In the middle of the lab platform, Temperance Brennan sank to the floor and cried.
I'd love it if you could review...pleaseth:)
