Chapter 8

A/N: so i had to miss Double Trouble and Fire in the Ice, but I finally saw them and liked them very much =] I hope you enjoy this chapter!

"Dr. Brennan, it's Cam. We've found some remains. They could be Angela's."

Brennan gasped but didn't say anything. When it was clear she wasn't going to, August grabbed the phone out of her hand.

"Cam, it's August Sweets. We'll be over right away." August hung up, not leaving any time for Brennan to reply. "Parker, will you go watch cartoons for a while?" August asked, and Parker nodded. He ran off into the other room.

Booth spoke. "What did Cam say?"

"They found some remains that could be Angela's. We've gotta go to the lab now!" Booth nodded forlornly and looked at Brennan.

"Bones?" He asked. She didn't respond. "Bones? Come on, we need to head to the lab right now, and we need you to identify the bones. Please?" But Brennan only stared off into space. Finally, Booth pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. She jumped a bit, but stood up and nodded.

The ride was uneventful. No one spoke except Parker, who quickly stopped when he figured out no one was going to talk back. When they got to the lab, Booth and Brennan walked off to talk to Cam. August wanted to go hear what had happened, but she had to watch Parker.

"'Gust?"

"Yeah, Parker?"

"Can I call you Gusty?"

"Sure." Although August didn't particularly like the sound of the nick name, she was too tired – emotionally and physically – to argue with the six year old.

"Gusty?"

"Yeah."

"Can I get a soda?"

"Sure. Come on, Parks." They walked over to the vending machine and August bought Parker a 7UP even though he insisted that his dad wouldn't mind him having caffeine. August was glad about her decision when Booth and Brennan walked out of Cam's office.

"Whatever he's drinking, it better be caffeine free," Booth said. August nodded. Booth and Brennan walked over to August.

"I'm guessing you'd like to hear what's going on, right?" Booth asked August.

"Yeah. But if you need me to keep watching Parker, I can wait."

"Why don't you watch Parker for an hour or so and then I can take him home for dinner and bed. Bones can fill you in then."

"Sure." So August and Parker began wandering the lab. They were walking by Hodgins' office when a white sheet of paper inside caught August's eye. She pulled on the door to the office. It was locked. So she knelt down and pulled a bobby pin out of her pocket. After about 3 minutes, the lock finally clicked open, and August pulled the door open. She and Parker stepped inside quietly and August went to grab the paper. Her eyes widened and she sprinted to the platform.

"Bren, Booth! We've gotta get to Hodgins' house NOW!!" Booth and Brennan exchanged confused looks, but after one look at the note, everyone was sprinting to the SUV.

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Angela was in so much pain. It was all she could think about. The pain. And Hodgins. She wanted to see him so bad; she knew all about the planted body that was supposed to be her, and she had a bad feeling that Hodgins would do something stupid about it.

She looked up as her kidnapper walked into the room. He was tall and skinny and never showed his face. Angela shivered in fear as he crossed the room and ran a hand down her face, none too gently. As his hand passed the long cut across her collarbone, she barely concealed her pain. She was trying not to give him the satisfaction of knowing he hurt her, but it wasn't working.

Suddenly a fist smashed into her face. Her head spun and dizziness overcame her. Another blow, and she was out cold. The last thing she remembered before she passed out was whispering, "Jack, save me."

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August banged rapidly on Hodgins' front door. "Hodgins! Hodgins!" There was no answer.

Booth walked up to the door and banged even harder. "Hodgins, come to the door right now!" Still no answer. Booth was about to ram his shoulder into the door to break it down when August stepped up to it and turned the handle. The door opened.

"How'd you know it was open?"

"If you were doing what Hodgins is doing, would you bother locking the door?"

"I guess not."

"Wait. What if it's a trap?"

"I repeat: if you were doing what Hodgins is doing, would you bother locking the door?"

"No, I mean what if the paper was a trap to lure us here."

"It wasn't. It was in Hodgins' handwriting. I'd know how his writing looks from anywhere. It slants way right and is pretty messy. The letters are never connected to each other and he leaves wide spaces between words."

"Ok, ok. Let's just hurry."

The four stepped inside. "Parker, stay right here in the front entrance. Don't touch anything, and keep the door closed and locked. We're just going to go look around," Booth instructed, and Parker nodded. He locked the door and sat down on the expensive looking rug.

"Split up?" August asked. The other two nodded, and the three of them all went off in different directions.

August ran up the stairs to the master bedroom. This house is freaking huge! August thought as she wandered aimlessly through doors and rooms. Finally, she was so lost that she realized she'd need a trail of something if she ever wanted to find her way around. So she grabbed a big glass bowl filled with jelly beans and began setting them down behind her and she found her way through the house.

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Booth was lost. He was sitting in some bathroom that could hold about 30 people at once. There was a huge marble shower and a bath tub big enough for about four people. It even had jets! And this was only a guest bathroom. Booth wondered what the master bathroom looked like.

If only this damn house wasn't so big.

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Brennan was getting scared. She could swear someone was following her. Maybe it really is a trap, she thought. She heard something move behind her and whirled around. No one was there. She turned back around and kept walking softly. Something shuffled. She whirled back around, ready to fight.

A fan was blowing back and forth across the room, and some papers were fluttering around a bit, causing the noise. Brennan relaxed and turned around. She kept walking and made it through the doorway to the next room. It was a library. There were shelves and shelves of books covering the room. Brennan walked forward to the first rack and stopped. There was a noise behind her. She turned, but didn't see anything.

Brennan walked back to the door and shut it and locked it. She walked through the rest of the library and didn't hear the noise. This didn't calm her. That meant that someone was following her and she'd just locked them out.

She hurried to get to the door on the other side of the library. But right as she was about to grab the door handle, it turned.

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August let out a frustrated yell. She was out of jelly beans (she'd eaten a few along the way) and she still hadn't found Hodgins. She set down the glass bowl and sighed. August continued wandering through the house. She reached a door that was locked, pulled out her bobby pin, and began picking the lock. It finally came unlocked, and August turned the handle and opened the door.

It was a library filled with books. She walked into the room and turned. No one, just like all the other rooms. She was almost beginning to wonder if anyone was even in the house. She kneeled down to tie her lime green Converse tighter so she could run faster to get through more rooms. Then something hit the back of her head, and August fell to the ground in pain. She heard footsteps running down a flight of stairs. Suddenly the footsteps were right next to her. Then someone laughed.

August screamed.

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Booth turned and began running towards a long scream. It faded away, and silence replaced the loud noise. Booth kept jogging to where he thought the sound had come from, but he wasn't sure exactly where.

Then he heard laughter.

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Brennan sprinted up the stairs to the second level of the library. The door was just opening, so she ran to the very back of the upstairs area. She grabbed a huge book off of it. She slunk along the rows of books to the balcony, ready to throw the book and hit the intruder. Finally she had a clear shot. The person was kneeling down, so she couldn't see them clearly. All she could see was the top of the person's head. She threw the book and ran down the stairs to get out when she realized that she'd hit August.

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Booth pushed open the door into a huge library. He could hear laughter and ran to where it was coming from.

"August? Bones?" Booth finally found them. The two were sitting on the floor laughing. "What did I miss?" Booth asked.

"Well, I was wandering through the library," Brennan said, "when I thought someone was following me. So I walked up to the door to get out when the handle turned. I ran up the stairs and grabbed a book. I couldn't really see the person in the library with me, so I threw a huge book and hit them. I went down stairs and found August on the floor next to the book."

"Wow," Booth said. He helped Brennan to her feet and hugged her. August stood up and smiled.

"Guys, as nice as this moment is, we need to find Hodgins," August remarked, and the tow pulled away. The trio walked out of the library and down the hall towards the final few rooms they had yet to check. There were three. Each person walked through a different door.

Booth didn't find anything, and neither did Brennan. But both heard August when she yelled, "Booth, Bren, call 911!"

A/N: So there you have it. kudos to anyone who can guess what happened to hodgins =] please leave me a review!