Hi! I know I haven't posted a chapter in a long time but I have a good excuse. I moved from Georgia to New Mexico where I have more relatives and the weather is a lot drier. I have Chronic Bronchitis and I was having more trouble breathing during the summer when it was very humid in the southeast. I almost felt like I was . My brother and I drove to Colorado Springs first to see if we could find a place to rent up there, but needless to say, I had a hard time breathing up there because of the elevation. After 3 days I told him I couldn't take it and we had to go down to Albuquerque and lower elevation. When we arrived here we couldn't find a place to rent that was under $900 and in a decent neighborhood. After a month of searching, my relatives talked me into trying to buy a home instead of renting. That took another 2 months. Since I was a first time home buyer and on disability I was able to get a home with no down payment and using government funding as in HUD. Never in a million years would I have thought I would buy a home, but here I am.

It took me 3 months to get here. During all of this time we have been more or less homeless and living in a Motel 6. To say the least I am in debt to my eyeballs, but I now have a home that I have been in for the past 45 days and paying far less than $900 a month. It just goes to show you what keeping a good credit rating can do for you.

I just got my computer running after having lost all of the cords for it. I had to replace both the keyboard, monitor and mouse because of the heat they had to endure while being stuck in the back of my car. Fortunately I kept the hard drive well covered.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

New Story for Brennan Chapter 17

He looked over towards where Brennan and Hodgins were and noticed there were a lot of people standing around them. He also noticed that they were all men. "Oh shit!" Booth said as he quickly walked back to the grave site. He was afraid for her.

He pushed his way through the onlookers to get to the center and Brennan. As he pushed his way to the center he saw Hodgins looking at Brennan. Her back was to him so he couldn't see her face, but he could see her hand. She had a brush in her hand that she was using to brush the dirt off of the skeletons eye sockets. He could see how they were broken and were barely holding together. He also saw her hand brushing the dirt off but not from choice. Her hand was shaking so much that it was carrying out the task that she had initially intended to perform.

As Booth knelt down by Brennan and Hodgins he gently reached for her hand and whispered to her. "Bones, are you alright?"

She turned and looked at him. He could see the look of panic in her eyes. Tears were falling down her cheeks. "Help me!"

Booth gently helped her to stand up. The circle of men parted for them so they could pass. Booth didn't let go of her hand as they walked away and back to his SUV.

"I'll finish this Dr. Brennan." Hodgins said as though nothing was wrong.

Booth guided Brennan to the passenger side and helped her into the back seat where the windows were heavily tinted and you could barely see inside. After getting something from his bag in the back he got in and sat next to her. He opened the small bottle of whiskey that he kept for what he called emergencies.

"Here Bones, drink some of this." Her hands were shaking so much that he had to hold it for her. She took a deep drink and closed her eyes and waited for the alcohol to do its work. After a few minutes she was able to get control of herself. When her hands stopped shaking she took the bottle from him and took another drink.

Booth took the bottle from her. "Hold on Bones this is for medicinal purposes only."

Brennan looked at him. "I couldn't help it. As I uncovered more of the skeleton more people came over to see what we had found. As more and more of the men came over and encircled us I felt as though they were taking all of the oxygen out of the air and I couldn't breathe. I started to remember when Angela and I were in the back of the store and I was on the table. All of the gang members were standing around the table. They didn't need to hold me down because I was under the influence of the drug they had given me."

The more she talked the more her hands started to shake. Her voice started to go up in volume until he thought she might scream. All Booth could think of to do was hold her tightly in his arms. She started to cry and that made him feel even worse. He pulled his cell phone out and called Hodgins even though he was only a few feet away.

"Hodgins." Jack answered.

"Hodgins, this is Booth. Are you almost done gathering evidence?"

"Yeah, I have everything I can get by myself. How is she doing?"

"I need to take her back to DC." Booth answered. He was surprised when Brennan spoke up.

"I'm okay now. I can finish collecting the evidence. I just need for the sheriff to clear the people away." Brennan said as she sat up and wiped her tears away and blew her nose.

Booth looked at her carefully to see if she had calmed down enough. "Okay Hodgins, she wants to continue. Ask the sheriff to clear the area around the grave site so she can have some room."

Booth and Hodgins hung up. He could hear the sheriff assigning tasks to the men so the area would be cleared. He opened the door and looked to see if the men had dispersed enough. Brennan got out of the vehicle also and looked. She went to the back of the SUV and retrieved a body bag.

They didn't finish collecting everything that they could possibly find until 7 p.m. Brennan was able to complete her work without further incident. Both Booth and Hodgins made sure that the men didn't crowd Brennan again. On the ride back to the Jeffersonian Brennan was quiet. She made a call to Cam before they left the site and let her know that the body was being delivered to the Jeffersonian but Hodgins and her were going to be going home and wouldn't start processing everything until tomorrow morning.

While Brennan was busy calling Cam, Booth walked away from everyone so that he could call Sweets.

"Dr. Sweets." He stated when he picked up the phone at home.

"Sweets, this is Booth. Can you meet me at the Diner at 9 tonight? Something happened to Bones at a crime site that I have to talk to you about."

"Sure, I'll meet you there at 9."

Brennan was coming over to him so he hung up without saying anything more.

"Let's go, I already called Cam to let her know that we were going home and we would start processing the evidence tomorrow morning." Without saying anything else they all got into the SUV and went home to Brennan's apartment.

As he approached the apartment building Booth remembered that he had to meet Sweets at the Diner. He was tired but he wanted to speak to him or he wouldn't sleep very well tonight. Instead of pulling into the underground garage he pulled up to the front of the building.

"Aren't you going to stay with me tonight?" Brennan asked as he came to a stop.

"Yes, I will. I have to go to my office and do something then I'll be right back. It should only take me an hour or so." He saw the look on her face. She looked like she didn't believe him. "I promise that I will be back as soon as I can." He gave her a kiss on her cheek and gave her his best, what he hoped, was an innocent smile. Brennan got out and joined Hodgins.

"What was that all about?" Hodgins asked.

Brennan watched Booth drive away. "I don't know. I think he's up to something and he doesn't want me to know what he is doing."

TBC…..

I know this one was shorter then what I usually post but it's been so long that I have to try and remember what my original thoughts were. I promise to post the next one by the end of this week. Thanks for sticking with me.