A/N: I'm not a cruel person. I'm really not. It's just that I decided a couple weeks ago that once I'm finished with SftP, I won't be writing anymore Bones fanfics. I have a lot of friends, both here on FFN and on a Bones forum I frequent that have been great to me while I've been writing for Bones. I just can't really come up with any good, original ideas anymore. So I'll be finishing with SftP, and finishing my trilogy. Then I'll be turning my attention to my other fanfics I'm writing here. Perhaps I'll revisit the Bones crew sometime in the future. But for now, probably not.
Anyway, enough yapping. This is a very hard chapter, but I hope you enjoy it, nonetheless.
After taking their leave of the soldiers, Brennan, Booth, and Cory all headed for his truck and got in, tossing their bags alongside Brennan where she sat in the back before Cory set the truck in drive and took off for his home, located about ten minutes from the main gate of Fort Carson. The tough sergeant stayed quiet, using his senses to gauge the mood of his two D.C. friends as he kept his eyes on the road. And so far, what he was getting off of them was leaving him more and more concerned with every passing moment.
The tension in the truck was palpable, at least to Cory. Booth sat in the passenger seat next to him, staring out the window, and to the soldier's keen trained eye, the FBI agent was oddly oblivious to the tension filling the air inside the vehicle. Brennan sat directly behind Cory, and when his eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, he couldn't help but notice that her eyes were dim and filled with an odd sort of fear. She was deathly quiet, sneaking a glance at Booth every once in a while before looking out her window with a look of quiet defeat on her face.
In all the time Cory had known the pair, they had always been close and very well in tune with one another. There is definitely something wrong here. These two have lost touch and I have got to figure out why. He looked into his mirror once more, studying Brennan for a moment before allowing his eyes to drift back to the road. If only for her sake, I must fix this.
As the steel colored Toyota Tacoma rolled away from the C-17 on the flight line, two heads turned and tracked the vehicle from a hilltop overlooking the flight line. Both were straddling four wheeler ATVs, one focusing on the truck's license plate number through a set of binoculars as the other quickly wrote it down. As soon as the truck was out of sight, one of them flipped open a cell phone and hit a speed dial. The moment it was answered, he stated flatly, "Targets on the move. Will trail until they are out of the gate." Snapping the phone shut, he started his ATV, gunning the engine and spinning the tires as he flung dirt in all directions before darting into the woods with his buddy close behind. Seconds later, there was no evidence that anyone had been watching the arrival of the C-17 and the actions of the soldiers below. Just like that, they were gone.
A pair of eyes snapped open, the pupils swiftly adjusting to the darkness as the dark eyes swept the room, their owner wondering what it was that had woken him. A sound tickled his ears, bringing him to his feet as he raised his head and listened. What he was hearing brought a sense of pained familiarity as he listened to the words being conveyed by the Shadow Song.
Your charge is far away from you. She needs you now, more than ever. Go to her, before it is too late.
He moved swiftly and without hesitation, racing through his door and launching himself over the fence before he tore off down the street, powerful muscles and sinew stretching and bunching beneath his gleaming black hide as his eyes glittered murderously. Rafael was on the move.
The trip to Cory's humble home went by in a blur to Brennan. She was still struggling in an internal war over what to tell Booth, and when. This shouldn't be so hard…but it is. Because of who he is. What he means to me. Why did I have to learn to care about him? Caring only makes things harder. I learned that lesson long ago, yet it seems I have forgotten. Now here I am. And things are far harder and more painful than they should be.
Her raging thoughts ceased for a moment as Cory rolled to a halt in his driveway with a friendly, "Here we are! Home sweet home." Brennan stepped out of the truck, catching her breath in spite of herself. Cory's two story house was built out of logs, giving it an undeniable mountain home feeling as the great Rocky Mountains reared up in the distance. Cory's house was built on the side of a hill on twenty-five acres of forest and wilderness. The beauty and peace of the area was absolutely stunning. And perfect for how I'm feeling right now. What a beautiful place.
To Brennan's surprise, she heard a deep whicker echo out from somewhere nearby, and she turned to find herself staring into the bright dark eyes of a beautiful black stallion standing in a nearby paddock. She was immediately drawn to the huge animal, approaching him without fear as she reached out and gently stroked his velvety nose. "Ah, I see you've met Onyx." Cory said as he walked up behind her and leaned on the fence, giving the big stallion an affectionate pat as Onyx snorted and gently nudged his owner's chest. "He's beautiful." Brennan said in appreciation as the stallion looked at her with an odd sort of wisdom in his dark eyes.
Out of the corner of her eye, Brennan noticed that Cory sent a casual look over his shoulder before he stared at her seriously and asked, "I couldn't help but notice that you're rather tense. My friend Roddy said that the rest of them noticed the same thing while you were on the plane. Mind if I ask what the matter is?" Brennan's fingers shook as she gently place a hand on Onyx's neck, drawing strength and comfort from the big animal as she whispered, "Everything."
Brennan's one word answer made Cory's heart drop into his shoes. He couldn't explain the sudden feeling of gut-wrenching fear that ripped through him as he saw the pain and fear in her eyes as she stroked the big stallion's neck in an effort to keep herself calm. Taking a half step closer so that his shoulder brushed hers lightly, he lowered his voice and softly said, "Please explain. And if you don't want me to tell Booth, I won't. It's not my right." The gratitude in the anthropologist's eyes as she looked at him eased some of the tension in his chest, but his concern was unabated. Looking back into Onyx's dark eyes and continuing to run her hand down his powerful neck, Brennan started to speak, tuning out the world around her as she told her soldier friend everything.
"It started about a month ago. I started having this odd tightness in my chest, sometimes to the point where it was hard to breathe. I thought it had something to do with…some bad stuff that happened about a year back, so I went and had a deep tissue massage done on my chest and back. The tension eased, problem solved. At least, so I thought. A couple weeks ago, I started having trouble breathing again, and I also began to experience random muscle cramps that caused extreme pain. By now, I knew something was wrong, so I had Cam check me out. She's our forensic pathologist, and I know she knows what she's doing. She found some unexplained spots on my X-rays and told me I should get a tissue sample pulled and tested. So I did. Turns out I have acute small cell lung cancer. Usually, it's pretty easy to tackle with radiation therapy, but unless it's caught early, it can cause all kinds of problems. Long story short, mine wasn't caught early enough. So I've got tumors on my lungs, kidneys, and liver, and the cancer cells are starting to invade my spinal column. I've been experiencing random moments of loss of motor control recently too. The doctor tells me I don't have much time."
To say he was shocked was the understatement of the year. Cory was absolutely floored, then he felt his emotions kicking in. I haven't known her that long, but she's a really good person. No one with so gentle a heart deserves such a tragic and cruel end, he thought as Brennan spoke again. "Truth be told, I'm not afraid of dying. I'm more afraid of leaving unfinished business behind. That's why I came here. I wanted to see to it that this case, whether it is originally from The Watcher or not, is buried once and for all. Kate gave everything to save us, and I owe her no less than my best effort. Even if it kills me."
Managing to get his thoughts together, Cory spoke softly, knowing instinctively that she didn't want him to pity her. "I am sorry, Temperance. No one deserves this and I thank you for taking some of the time you have left to come here and help us again." Here he paused for a moment, thinking hard, before he asked, "But what about Booth? There is no way that he knows. If he did, I already know he would not have let you come here." The forensic anthropologist smiled so, so sadly before she said quietly, "No he doesn't. And if I have my way, he never will. Someone so kind does not deserve to watch as someone they care for slowly withers and dies. I will not make him suffer in the knowledge that there is nothing he can do to save me. I won't do it."